The Law Keeper first in the Book of the Renewal
by Draegyn
Summary: They were mages out of their own time, mysteriously snatched from Death's embrace and born anew. Now and ever their purpose is to protect. She is a Guardian, born and bred to uphold the Law of Selene. Fate has decided that they must meet...
1. Prologue

Hullo again all.  Well here's the start of yet another story.  Which, I'm glad to say, is not all that long… only twelve or so parts counting  pro and epilogues.  There is a small thing about certain scenes later on in which a couple of the characters make out – it doesn't get explicit (or so I think at least) still it does get heated so you are now warned.

Anyway you all know that Sailor Moon is not mine, otherwise my obsession with angel wings would have demanded that Sailor Moon had them full time.

Synopsis: They were mages out of their own time, mysteriously snatched from Death's embrace and born anew.  Now and ever their purpose is to protect.  She is a Guardian, born and bred to uphold the Law of Selene.  Fate has decided that they must meet... but what god decided to send those dreams?  Oh!  That one…

The Law Keeper: Prologue

The first in the Book of the Renewal.

By Draegyn

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            To most mortals, gods are all powerful beings that are capable of anything.  In truth, gods are nearly all powerful beings that can do almost anything.  They form the Universal Council; it is to them that the task of governing the cosmos falls.  At times, there seems to be multitudes of the almost divine beings and then things change and barely a score guide the sectors of space.  Though their numbers are variable, their duties are not.  They must defend civilisation, life and those elements that make life civilised.  In a star system in a distant sector of space, an ancient evil arose.  The people fought against it valiantly and even though every planet in the solar system united to fight, all of the planets, except one, were sacrificed.  On the sole surviving planet, civilization fell and the entire world was invaded by barbarianism, the native sentients reduced to savagery.  Even with such casualties it was clear that the war with the evil had not been won.  The evil merely slept until such a time when the sentients of the world had developed far enough to be useful once more.

            The Universal Council knew of these events and, though they regretted them deeply, they could not intervene.  Instead, they were required to appoint one of their number to guard the star system until such a time that the war had truly been won and the sentients were adequately developed to rejoin the rest of the universe.  The goddess Selene, known as Serenity by her people, volunteered for the duty, since she had opposed the evil before.  Of all the gods, she was the best prepared to ensure that the evil did not escape the interdicted star system, no matter the final outcome between the system's surviving sentients and the evil.

            She settled herself, and those of her people who had followed her, upon the sole satellite of the single surviving world.  Together they created the Silver Keep from where they could stand guard as sentries over the system.  Selene then turned her attention to the needs of the surviving sentients.  They had devolved to a brutal and primitive existence, losing much of their spiritual strength along with their civilisation.  Seeing this, Selene and her people understood that when the evil next revealed itself, the sentients would not have the skills required to defend themselves.  Thus they made it so that the souls of the greatest of the star system's heroes to oppose the evil would be reborn when the evil was about to rise once more.

***

            "Princess?" a soft voice interrupted the white haired tutor.  Both of his students turned to see an elegant woman with purple-black hair and golden-brown eyes standing in the doorway.  The tutor's blue eyes lit up at the sight of his life mate and for an instant both adults forgot everything else other than the sight of each other.  Their souls reached towards each other and, for the briefest moment, merged, exchanging thoughts, emotions and love, before they both recalled themselves to their duties.

            The tutor smiled for the benefit of the two children and replied, "Yes Luna, she is here."

            Luna walked through the doorway towards the two children and held out her hand towards the girl. "I am sorry to interrupt your history lessons Princess but your mother has requested that I coach you in some new spells."

            The young girl grimaced to her brother and then stood with a sigh.  She was about to take Luna's hand when a thought came to her and she whirled around and threw herself into her tutor's arms.   He laughingly hugged her back.

            "Thank you Artemis," she grinned at him before returning to take Luna's hand.

            "Artemis, my Prince," Luna nodded to each in turn and then led the girl out of the room.

            "Later Toki!" the girl called over her shoulder.

            "See ya Usa!" shouted the boy before he grinned and added, "And don't turn anyone into a frog today huh?"

            There was silence for a minute before the girl's red face popped back around the doorframe, long enough for her to poke her tongue out at her brother before she disappeared again.

            The young prince turned back to Artemis with a cheerful expression and the tutor could not help but smile with him.  Both Prince Tranquillity and Princess Serenity, or Motoki and Usagi as they were also known, had sunny dispositions and infectious smiles and laughter.  He and his twin were seven standard years old, twenty-six solar years according to the orbit of the star system's third planet.  Their blonde hair was a luminescent golden only shades darker than their mother's silvery white.  Their eyes were identical shades of sapphire blue that shone with the internal light that all of their blood seemed to radiate and on their brow, the crescent insignia that revealed them as the children of Selene glimmered.

            "I thought she had improved," Artemis commented mildly.

            Tranquillity grinned up at him, "She has but it's fun to tease her about it."

            Artemis looked down at him and the boy wrinkled his nose cutely.  "I wonder what would happen if she were to learn of the time when you changed yourself into a cat and could not change back?"

            The grin disappeared from the boy's face and he blushed.  "You won't tell her about that.  Will you Artemis?" he nervously whispered.

            Artemis winked and asked, "About what?"

            Tranquillity let out a huge sigh of relief.  "Thanks."

            Artemis nodded.  "Now back to our lessons.  Our people are here to aid and accompany your mother while she maintains the interdiction that bars all outside traffic from this star system.  The interdiction will stand until such time as the sentients of this system are prepared to rejoin the rest of the universe as equals."

            "How will she know when they are?"

            "When their species has evolved enough so that it is capable of producing an individual that will soul-bond with one of our people then we know the time is approaching."

            Tranquillity frowned, "I don't understand."

            "I am referring to the legend of the Eternal Couple," Artemis replied.

            "No," Tranquillity persisted, "What I mean is, how can a soul-bond be formed if none of us can go there?"  He motioned to the window and Artemis followed his gaze.  The view from the large window revealed a spectacular vista shown from the northern-most spire in the Silver Keep.  The white crater marked landscape met the darkness of space and just rising above the horizon was the blue bulk of the planet their little moon orbited.  Both prince and tutor knew that the beautiful blue world was inhabited by barbarians, people that were still centuries away from discovering the rest of the universe.  Indeed the cultures that existed there seemed to have grown darker of late, as religious fever swept the land, as did the beginnings of a horrific plague.

            Artemis looked back to where the boy was staring in the direction of the blue world that its inhabitants simply called Earth.  "One day some of our people will travel there," Artemis told him and the boy's eyes swung back to his teacher.  "When the evil reveals itself again," Artemis continued, "Then your mother will send an observer to monitor events.  He or she will watch over the heroes reborn but will not be allowed to interfere.  The watcher will help guide the sentients so that a limited association between our peoples can be formed but until the Eternal Couple appears, the sentients will not know who or what we are."

            The boy looked back at the glowing sphere in the sky in awe and Artemis smiled inwardly.  "Well now my prince, that won't be for centuries yet, in either standard or Earth years.  There is plenty of time to prepare ourselves."

            Tranquillity nodded reluctantly.  Artemis cocked his head at the boy and said after a pause, "Why don't we cut it short for today?  You can seek out Reika and spend some time with her until your weapon lessons."  Tranquillity grinned at the thought of seeing the pretty girl again and Artemis reflected that the prince was very lucky to have found his soul mate so young.  Many of their people were forced to wait centuries for their life mate to come and one amongst them would need to wait until Earth produced a sufficiently enlightened soul.  Artemis glanced out the window once more before he left the room. He did not envy that poor individual.  He or she would have a very long wait.


	2. Chapter one

For American readers:

1. When talking of money a note can mean a bill: a fifty dollar note

2. Pokies ~ slot machines (I think that's what you call them.)

The Law Keeper – Chapter one

First in the Book of the Renewal

By Draegyn

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Andrew yawned again as he prodded at the stubborn game machine.  It was accepting coins but not allowing the customers to play the games they had paid for.  The blonde man jiggled a couple of wires and then whacked the side of the consol.  The beeping started again and Andrew gave a sigh of relief that quickly turned into another yawn.  He shut the back of the machine and moved it back to its original position before turning to the two boys waiting for him.

"There you go kids, give that a try for me," he requested giving them some coins to replace the ones they had lost.

The boys grinned at him and were soon completely involved in the game.  Andrew stretched and headed back to the counter near the door of the arcade. A brief trip through the door behind the counter, into the back room provided him with a cup of coffee and it was with extreme gratitude that he fell back into his chair.  It had been a very long night and a very busy day, filled with malfunctioning game machines, typical Saturday madness, noisy kids, a new delivery of games and a request for change from a very large note**.  **

Andrew paused for a moment as he thought of the last customer and by reflex he looked over to where a black haired girl was stubbornly trying to play the Sailor V game.  She had been there ever since the arcade had opened this morning and had spent a fortune.  Andrew was beginning to wonder if he needed to put up signs warning that games could be addictive.   There really wasn't that much difference between arcade games and the pokies in casinos, only the age brackets that they appealed to.  He shrugged. It was something he could discuss with either his life mate or twin when he had the time.

His twin was the reason his night had been so long.  It wasn't that he was not glad to see her, he was. It had been nearly two solar decades since they had last spoken face to face.  It was the necessity of her visit that bothered him.  He would have been a lot more relaxed if Serenity's presence on Earth was not caused by several worrisome disruptions in the local energy fields.  He shrugged and dismissed the thought. His sister was more than capable of taking care of the problem and it did mean that he got to see her again.   Being his mother's scout on Earth meant that he only rarely got to see his family.  The only other representative of his people on Earth was his soul-mate Reika and their duties meant that they were forced to reside on opposite sides of the planet... not that that was an insurmountable difficulty for the son of Selene.  Between teleportation and telepathy he and his lady were never far apart.

His thoughts distracted by pleasant musings of his ladylove, it was several moments before Andrew noticed the sullen young man approaching him.  When he did, he was surprised to note that not only was the man in an extremely bad mood but that his black hair and turtleneck were damp.  A quick inspection revealed the rest of the man to be in the same condition.

"What on Earth happened to you Darien?" he exclaimed.

Dark blue eyes that reminded Andrew of the colour Earth appeared from the moon, stared at him stonily.  Andrew silently handed his untouched cup of coffee to his friend, along with the spare chair, and waited until the caffeine fix had worked its way into the other man's bloodstream.  It was about five minutes later when Darien sighed and finally answered the question.

"Do you really want to know?" he asked wearily.  Andrew nodded and Darien sighed as he leaned back in the chair.  "I was just minding my own business out on that little wooden bridge over the stream in the park.  You know the one I go to think on?"  Andrew nodded and Darien continued, "Well this girl bumps into me and knocks us both into the water."

"That can't be all," Andrew remarked after a moment.

Darien sighed again and closed his eyes, "Not if you count the argument that happened after we pulled ourselves out of the water.  I swear it's a miracle I'm not deaf, that girl's voice was unbelievable!"

Andrew stared at his friend for a moment. He knew that there was more to this than Darien was telling him and the last time Darien had edited a story this heavily was when he was fighting against the Negaverse.  Andrew debated his next course of action for a moment. He was assigned to watch the souls Selene had reincarnated and yet Darien was also his friend and deserved his privacy.  Recalling the current condition of Tokyo's energy fields, Andrew decided reaching over to lightly place his hand on Darien's shoulder as if in sympathy.  In reality the touch provided a conduit through which he could touch the man's mind.

Andrew received several jumbled impressions: a very young girl with pink hair, a black balloon-like object that looked like a cat's head, an image of a palace made out of crystal and the face of a teenage blonde girl with a strange hairdo.  As soon as he saw the last image, Andrew withdrew from Darien's mind unnoticed.  He recognised the face as the one his sister was hiding behind during her stay on Earth and knew that he'd be able to get the whole story from her.

As if his thoughts had summoned her, Andrew heard his sister's mental voice call out to him.

_*What's the matter Usa?* he called back._

Her mental grumbling replied, _*Listen Toki, I know that overblown frog-faced jerk is not only a very strong warrior but a hero as well but if you want him to live then find a way to warn him about the consequences of insulting me!*_

_*Be careful about calling me Motoki or Tranquillity here sis... and what the hell happened between you two?*_

A soft mental groan, _*I'll tell you tonight, you'd better console Frog-boy there.  We can't afford to dent his tender ego!*_

_ *Such a compassionate sister-*_

_ *Shut up Bro!  You deal with Frog-boy and I'm gonna have a bath. I reek of fish!*_

The connection between the two of them was cut before Andrew could reply.  The mental conversation had occurred in less than a second and Andrew sat back in his chair as if nothing had happened.  He looked at Darien for a moment and shook his head.  His best friend on Earth and his sister had not hit it off.  It was going to be very difficult around the pair of them since he couldn't just side with one.  He was going to have to be the peacemaker between Princess Serenity of the moon and the man who was Tuxedo Mask, the two most stubborn people he had ever met.

***

Andrew tickled Rita's feet as she squirmed in his grip. ** "You're going to have to stop that if you want a proper massage," he scolded her as he tickled her yet again.**

"You're going to have to stop that if you don't want my foot in your eye," she warned back.  Andrew merely laughed as he stopped his tickling and began to squeeze his life-mate's feet gently. She leaned back into the couch and sighed.  Andrew felt a touch of pride at the bliss contained in that sigh and continued in his efforts to reduce the ache from her feet.  Andrew's thoughts were moving off in a tangent when a slight touch of power warned him of his sister's arrival.

"Door's open!" he yelled.

He looked up just as the door closed and the appearance of his visitor changed from that of a fourteen-year-old human girl to a young woman in a brief flash of light.  For an instant, it seemed as if the light obscured a winged form but when it faded all that remained was a woman, even if she only superficially resembled a human.  Her features were subtly different from even the most exotic of humans, too delicate and fine for any earthly creature.  She was pale yet with a sheen that likened her skin to pearls rather than cream and, on anyone else, her limbs would have seemed disproportionately slender and long.  Above two inhumanly bright sapphire blue eyes, a golden crescent glittered from where it marked her forehead.  To humans, her beauty would have been offset by her alienness, to her current companions, she was a perfect example of their people.  She trudged across to an easy chair and threw herself into it.

"Remind me again why I have to live with a family," she moaned.

"Because your disguise makes you look only about fourteen," Rita said helpfully.

Another groan.  "And why did I have to look so young?"

"I don't know," Andrew answered, "That was your idea."

"Well the next time I get a bright idea kick me!"  Andrew grinned and his sister scowled at him.

"Bad choice of foster family Usagi?" Rita asked.

"Yes and no Reika- sorry, Rita.  By the way I'm going by the name Bunny Tsukino now.  Back to the point, the family's great, my 'little brother' is a pest but I'm used to annoying brothers..."

Andrew picked up a cushion and threw it at her.  Bunny merely knocked it aside and grinned at him before continuing, "No the thing that's thrown me is that I've suddenly got a cousin as well.  With pink hair no less!"  Bunny saw her brother's sudden start of recollection and her eyes gleamed when she realised she had his undivided attention.  "And that's not all," she drawled, "Would you like to know the interesting bit?"

Rita nodded but Andrew held up his hand.  "Does it have anything to do with you and Darien?" he quizzed.  Bunny nodded and Andrew pursed his lips, "Then start from the beginning if you don't mind."

Bunny nodded again and closed her eyes in thought.  They remained closed even after she began her story. "I was only half paying attention to my surroundings.  I'm sure they were beautiful and all, and I want to see them at some point when I'm not in the middle of something but I was too busy mapping energy currents to worry about them at the time.   I'd found a couple of nodes in a place where the energy field was slightly warped and had created** a few effects on physical objects.  I was trying to get closer to one of the nodes when I bumped into someone and knocked the both of us into a railing. It was at that time that I discovered that not only had I wandered onto a bridge but also that abnormalities in energy fields rot wood.  So I and the poor innocent ended up in the drink.**

"My perception of him as a poor innocent was quickly ended when he surfaced from the stream with a frog on his face and mouthing some of the vilest obscenities I've ever heard.  He quickly changed from railing at fate to cursing me, something which I did not appreciate and which killed my apology before I'd even opened my mouth."

"'You complete and utter moron,' he bellowed at me, 'Are you blind or just brain dead?'"

"Of course I was not about to stand for that.  Nothing I had done deserved that kind of abuse and I replied in kind, 'Look who's talking, Frog-face!'"  

  "At that he threw the poor frog away.  Luckily, the unfortunate creature landed in the stream.  I started to feel a bit ashamed of myself at this point.  'Look I'm sorry,' I said, 'I didn't mean to knock you over and you can't blame me for the fact that the railings were rotten.'  I did try to apologise.  I bit down on my temper and managed to keep it remarkably well considering my mood was just as foul as his.  I waded over to the bridge and hauled myself out before turning and offering Mr. Gracious a hand.  He spurned it and pulled himself out."  

"I think I must have topped off a really bad day for him because as soon as he regained his feet he turned on me again.  'Have you got meatball brains to go with that meatball head of yours?' he sneered at me.  I am so very tired of people's comments on my hairstyle that I was about to let him have it!  Forget keeping my temper, forget keeping a low profile and forget trying to make friends.  Just as I opened my mouth, there was a thunderclap."  Bunny started to blush and Andrew grinned, feeling her embarrassment.

She glared at him before continuing, "Laugh it up Bro. Unlike you I had never heard Earth's thunder before!"

"So what happened?" Rita asked.

Bunny scrunched her eyes tightly shut, "I kinda jumped straight into Frog-face's arms."

There was silence and then Andrew choked, "You jumped into Darien's arms?!"

"I didn't mean to," Bunny wailed, "And I didn't know that it was Darien at the time either."  Her brother just stared at her and she sighed.  "It really was an accident," she said softly.

"Oh I believe you Sis," Andrew replied, shaking his head, "It's just if a girl looking like you jumped into my arms, I would not have been anywhere as near as angered by it as Darien seemed to be- ouch!" Andrew rubbed his ear and looked reproachfully at an innocent looking Rita.

Bunny broke in before a domestic squabble could break out.  "Remember I looked like this at the time," she advised him.  Her features blurred and the exotic woman was replaced by a small blonde teenager with huge blue eyes.

"Shouldn't have made much difference," Rita told her and Bunny shrugged, returning her appearance to that of the barely human blonde woman.

"Darien doesn't really strike me as a ladies' man anyway," she told them.  Both of her companions looked at her incredulously and Bunny frowned, "Maybe I have my slang mixed up.  What I mean is that the girls might go for him but he couldn't give a hoot for them."  Andrew's expression showed his agreement and Bunny continued.

"So there we are, he's holding me and it sounds like the mother of all thunderstorms is going on above us.  Thing is, the sky was completely clear, except, of course, for right above the two of us.  There was a ring of really dark clouds right above the pair of us and before we knew what was happening, WHAM!  Something small, soft and heavy landed on us.  We were lucky that we didn't end up back in the stream."

"It took me a couple of minutes to gather my wits and after I did, I found myself in the middle of a pile of bodies.  I was on top of the Frog-face and a little pink-haired spore was on top of me.  I was trying to find a way to dislodge the girl when Frog-face solved my problem for me by dumping the both us off of him.  By that point I was no longer angry, just tired.  I wanted to go back to bed. I haven't had much sleep ever since I was informed that I'd be coming to Earth and none at all last night, add the equivalent of a zillion time zones worth of jetlag and I was starting to feel really down.  I ignored the indignity of what had been done to me, I even tried to help the kid who was in the same position as I was.

"That was when Frog-face started up again.  'Watch it Meatball Head,' he snapped.  Not even that comment made me flare up again, instead I just replied calmly as I picked both myself and the girl up and said 'My name is Bunny.'  Then, before either myself or the Frog-face could say anything more, the spore has a gun pointed at my head.  'Give me the Imperium Silver Crystal,' she said.  I had no idea of what she was talking about but Frog-face did and his energy flared, leading me to the realisation that he was one Darien Chiba, the reborn soul of a dead Terran prince, occasionally the hero Tuxedo Mask and currently the best friend of my undercover brother.  Well he got his act together and pulled the kid off of me before we discovered what kind of ammunition she was using."  Bunny looked at her brother and rolled her eyes, "In case you're wondering it was loaded with pink and yellow roses."

Andrew's round eyes widened further and he began to shake his head in disbelief.

"After that, Darien and I stared at each other for a couple of minutes before just walking away from each other," Bunny finished.

Andrew and Rita were silent for a moment before Andrew mused, "Well that explains why Darien was in such a bad mood but not you Usa.  What had you so upset that you were about to blow up at a total stranger?  And I know it wasn't him teasing your hair."

Bunny smiled sourly at her twin, "Oh let me enlighten you.  My little pink-haired cousin is the spore that landed on me if you hadn't guessed.  Before she turned up I was beginning to suspect that something had gotten through my guard, gotten to Earth and was currently mucking about with the energy fields.  That of course upset me a little. How did they get past me?  Where did I fail?  Do you get it?"  Both Andrew and Rita nodded both understanding that the thought that she might have been careless was frustrating her.  Bunny looked them both in the eye and added, "The little spore, by the way her name is Rini, confirms it."

Andrew looked confused. "How?"

Bunny sat upright and ran her hands through her fringe. "She's only half human, if that."

"What?!" Andrew blurted and Rita just stared in shock.

Bunny shrugged. "You heard me."

Rita shook her head. "But how?"

Bunny adopted the posture of someone about to give a lecture.  "Well," she said in a patronising tone, "A man and a woman love each other very-"

"Serenity!" Andrew snapped.

Bunny sighed, "Sorry guys it's just...  Someone's broken the Law of Selene, gotten through my guard, set up house down here and I have no idea who, what, where or when.  Scratch that. I think what it is, it's one of us, from the Silver Keep."

Andrew stared at his sister for a moment before asking, "Have you tried to search who ever it is out?"

Bunny nodded, "Uh huh, first I looked for the mental signature of a non-human. But other than us, there are none and haven't been any since Frog-boy and co defeated the Negaverse.  After that, I looked for soul-bonds and zip.  The only such bond on Earth at the moment is yours, I guess humans still aren't evolved enough to form them."

"So someone came down for a joyride, had an affair and then took off, leaving a human to deal with the consequences?" Andrew drawled in disgust.

Bunny shrugged and Rita gasped, "It couldn't be!"

"And that's the best case scenario Sis," Bunny sighed, "If that's not the way it happened then the only other way for a cross between one of us and one of them to happen is…"

"In the future," Andrew whispered.

Rita finished, "After the interdiction has been lifted."

Bunny nodded.  "Uh huh!  Which means that it's the Law of Chronos that has been broken.  Of the two, which would you rather?"

The life mates didn't even look at each other as they replied simultaneously, "The interdiction!"

Bunny smiled wryly.  "I'll inform Mother of what I've found.  With what we know, she can look for a male who can't account for his whereabouts six to seven years ago.  When she's got a list, I can compare them for Rini's paternity but..." she trailed of miserably.

"Hope for the best, plan for the worst," Andrew said.

Bunny nodded, "Uh huh.  Now let's look at our worst case scenario: Rini has been sent from the future."

"The immediate question is why," Andrew added.

"Something you should also consider is that if the Law of Selene has been rescinded in her time, then her parents are most likely soul-bonded and she's part of a very happy family.  What could be so important that it would be necessary for them to allow their very young daughter to go into such danger?" questioned Rita.

"And will whatever it is follow her back?" Bunny finished the thought for all of them.

Andrew paled, "If they can't handle it in the future then there's nothing and no one not even... Frog-face," Bunny smiled at her brother's use of the term, "who could deal with it."

"Which is why I'll be sticking around for longer than we'd hoped," Bunny informed them.  She saw the unsure expressions her brother and heart-sister were wearing and explained, "Of the two alpha level warriors currently cleared for Earth, I'm the only one that has the option of retreat.   Tranq-"  Andrew opened his mouth and Bunny forestalled him, "I know, I know, call you Andrew but that's the point Motoki, we can't risk blowing your cover.  Your position on Earth and as a confidante of several of the reincarnates is irreplaceable.  If I need to make a quick getaway then the loss of Bunny Tsukino is no big deal but the recall or reassignment of Andrew Furuhata, and by default, Rita as well, would be a serious set back for us."

Andrew and Rita stared at her silently for a couple of minutes before Andrew nodded reluctantly.  "So what're you going to do?"

Bunny bit her lip and thought a moment.  "Get Luna and Artemis to do the border patrol while I'm here and see what I can find out from Rini.  I'm also going to need a proper brief from you Bro."

"Hasn't Mother kept you up to date?"

Bunny looked slightly chagrined.  "She's tried... I think."

"You think?" Rita asked, amused.

Bunny shrugged and replied, "I've been preoccupied with Jupiter."  She suddenly became a lot more animated and her mood brightened to one her brother and his mate were accustomed to seeing her in.  "I've been working on the atmospheric conditions there and I think that after a little bit more work, it'll be able to sustain life.  I've also found some residues of the ecosystems that used to exist there.  After the atmosphere is amenable to life I hope to be able to foster some of those residues and catalyse the development of new ecosystems using the old ones."

Andrew laughed, delighted by both his twin's accomplishments and her enthusiasm.  "I guess we can excuse you then. So what do you need to know?"

Bunny began to count points off on her fingers, "Current organization of the reincarnates as well as individual profiles and maybe introductions, any abnormal occurrences in the area, complete background info on your cover identities, why Frog-face was so upset by our encounter with Rini and what an Imperium Silver Crystal is."

Andrew leaned back against Rita's chair and ordered his thoughts.  "OK," he finally said, "Let's start with the reincarnates.  There are five of them active at the moment, one from each the inner planets.  You know Darien. In his past life he was the crown prince of Earth and now fights as Tuxedo Mask.  It's easy enough to recognise him, black tuxedo, black top hat, black cane, and a black cape lined in red.  He's had a hard time in this lifetime and he's very difficult to get close to.  The thing to remember about him is that his power is almost beta level."

Bunny whistled and Andrew nodded in agreement; that was powerful, especially for a human in this era.  "Then we have the scouts.  They're four cute girls who dress in parodies of a sailor suit.  You know, one of those weird collar things, with a bow in front, and there's another on their back at the top of their really short skirts.  First is Mina Aino.  She was a professional performer from Venus who used her position to gather information and rally her planet to fight.  In this lifetime, she began as the crime fighter Sailor V but when the Negaverse attacked she became Sailor Venus.  She's blonde, blue eyed and very bubbly.  Her scout uniform has an orange skirt and collar with blue bows."

"Raye Hino was a Martian warrior-bard who became a messiah for her people.  Now she's a Shinto priestess who fights under the name of Sailor Mars.   She's very prickly, and rather quick tempered.  She is a fire mage whose colours are, of course, red and purple.  Then there's Amy Mizuno who is Sailor Mercury.  She was one of the most brilliant tacticians any of the planets ever produced and her intelligence has only increased in her new life.  She's living with her mother at the moment and is widely hailed as the smartest girl in Tokyo.  Her scout colours are blue as befits a water adept.  Last is Lita Kino, a.k.a. Sailor Jupiter.  She was second in command of the Jovian ground forces.  She led the guerrilla campaign when Jupiter was invaded and now serves as the powerhouse of the reincarnates.  Her specialities include storm summoning and a basic affinity for nature, particularly plants.  Her colours are green and, surprisingly, pink."

"When Beryl and the Negaverse were revived, only Sailor V and Tuxedo Mask were active.  I don't know how but both Darien and Mina remember portions of their previous life, enough so that they possess the skills and knowledge of that lifetime.  Darien fought the Negaverse alone. Mina, however, went on to gather three other reincarnates and form the Sailor Scouts.  Knowing a little of their origin, she changed her code name to Sailor Venus and the others took names according to their origins.  They formed a loose alliance with Darien over the duration of their conflict with the Negaverse which has grown tighter over time.  Venus leads the scouts except when they are working in collaboration with Tuxedo Mask, then it is he who leads.  Now the five are close friends as well as allies." 

"As for abnormal occurrences, the anomalies in the E-fields are the first such.  If it weren't for the fact that Reika and I as well as several of Mother's seers on the moon have been having disturbing flashes then I'd have said everything was great.  What else was there?"

"Darien and the crystal," Rita reminded her lover.

Andrew nodded in recollection. "Right.  Darien and the Imperium Silver Crystal go together hand in hand.  That Rini even knew of the crystal's existence would have upset Darien.  The crystal is the sole surviving relic from before the Fall.  It was the talisman bonded to the Royal bloodline of Earth.  It was their duty to guard it until the woman it was meant for was born."

Bunny frowned.  "I don't get it," she said in confusion, "I thought the Terran bloodline only spawned males."

"It did," Rita replied, "But before the Fall, humans were capable of forming soulbonds and that bond allowed a prince or king's wife to use the crystal.  The thing is, nothing ever said that the crystal's true owner would be in anyway related to the keeper.  For all Darien knows, he might have to give it up to someone he detests."

"Darien is the last scion of the prime bloodline of Earth and somehow the crystal found it's way into his possession in his current life time," Andrew informed his twin calmly.

Bunny looked thoughtful for a moment before asking, "So what's so important about the crystal other than it's historical value?"

"It allows the user to meld the powers of others and then direct them herself."

Andrew's answer stunned his sister.  All three of them knew that, while it was possible to combine individual spells to generate a specific effect or increase the strength of the spell, it was not possible to combine the intrinsic power of any two or more individuals without some form of soul-bond existing between them.  Bunny, Andrew, Rita - rather Serenity, Tranquillity and Reika - along with Queen Serenity could combine their magic in such a way utilising both the kin-bond between the twins and their mother as well as the life-bond between Tranquillity and his mate yet they were only able to do so with Tranquillity as the focus and not with anyone other than each other.  Whoever would be able to imitate such a technique without the necessity of a soul-bond would have access to almost unlimited power.

"It's owner would not be one to trifle with," Bunny whispered in awe and both Andrew and Rita nodded in agreement.

"So now can you understand why Darien was so unnerved by Rini?" Andrew asked.  

Bunny nodded thoughtfully.  "OK, and finally, what is your story down here?  What should I know about who you're pretending to be?"

Andrew cocked his head in thought, "Officially I'm the same age as Darien, both of us are twenty years old-"

"Standard years?" Bunny asked incredulously, "I was under the impression that a human's entire lifespan was about twenty standard."

"I mean solar years.  Human's keep track of things in solar years," Andrew said wryly, suddenly realising just how difficult it was going to be for his sister to adjust to the mindset of humans.   No matter what the impression she often gave people, Serenity possessed the infinite patience of their mother as could be seen by her endeavours on Jupiter which would take centuries to complete.  Andrew was the opposite, appearing to be a patient soul when, internally, he was only barely restraining himself from forcibly hastening matters.  Sometimes he wondered if their mother had chosen the right twin when she had decided that one of her children would be her eyes on Earth.

Even compared with him though, humans were an impatient people, living more for the now rather than planning for the future and they showed it in such strange ways.  Many of his friends, for example Darien, were so focused on what they were doing that they lost track of everything else.  No matter how important a matter was to any of his people, Andrew knew that they would always savour the world around them while they continued with their business.  Humans were so impatient for events to happen now that they tended to ignore other occurrences whereas his people-

"Are more open and observant," Bunny said out loud, "We see the larger picture."  Andrew raised an eyebrow at her and she shrugged. "I'm not eavesdropping on your thoughts, I can read them on your face."

Andrew turned to Rita for confirmation and she nodded.  He turned back to his sister.  "It's not that I don't think you're capable," he explained, "But are you sure you can handle this?  I mean can you pull off this kind of masquerade?  We can always operate from the command room under the arcade if you'd prefer."

Bunny looked at him thoughtfully. "I think so.  I mean I think I've already got the manner of speaking down-"

"I'd noticed that," Rita said admiringly.

Bunny smiled and continued, "I'm pretty sure I can pass for a teenager for a moderate period of time.  My... 'Lunarian' perspective will make me seem a little strange but I think I can camouflage that by giving people the impression that I'm..."

"A meatball head?" Andrew suggested.  

Bunny frowned at him but nodded.  "Pretty much, that should cover any trips on my part." Suddenly she grinned, "Besides I think it'd annoy Frog-face no end if I have to spend an extended length of time associating with him as a ditz."

Andrew sighed.  "By the way," he muttered, "Just how will you explain your presence to the scouts if you have to fight."

Bunny shrugged.  "I'm one of the undiscovered reincarnates and my dreams brought me here so that I can help.  I'll only be staying until whatever it is has finished and then I have to go home to return to my duties.  If necessary I'll reinforce that with a memory spell before I leave."

"That should work," Andrew said thoughtfully.

Rita grinned, "She can be Sailor Moon!"  Brother and sister stared at her and she smiled. "Think about it. She can't fight in her normal form, the reincarnates wouldn't believe that she was one of them, let alone human.  Look at her love," and Rita gestured to Bunny who was now sitting straight in her chair.  "That's only a mild version of what she really looks like. How's she going to pass for human when she fights in her true form?"

Andrew examined his sister as she currently appeared and recalled the form she fought in.  At the moment her hair was the same silver-gold as his was in his natural form.  It was done up in her buns and pigtails which reached the ground yet it wasn't the wealth of soft and silky strands which marked her apart nor the crescent moon that he himself would sport on his brow in his lunarian shape.  It was the way light seemed to shine from her eyes and her skin, the exquisite delicacy of her features and the aura of peace that surrounded her.  They were all traits that were only enhanced when she appeared in her natural form, the form that she normally fought in.

"Reika's right, Usa," Andrew said eventually, "You can't revert to yourself when you fight, can you hold an illusion at the same time?"

"Probably," Bunny answered, "It'd restrict the battle spells I could use and limit the strength of them but not too badly."

"Illusion it is then," Andrew decided, "But what as?"

"The scouts have a uniform don't they?" Bunny questioned.

Rita nodded, "That's right and I can design one for you if you want."

Bunny nodded.  "Yeah, we'll make Bunny Tsukino Sailor Moon rather than Serenity.  That way I'll be about the same age, etc as the other reincarnates."

"That's all sorted out then?" Andrew asked.

"Uh huh," Bunny murmured, "Now what else should I know about you two on Earth?"

"My name is Andrew Furuhata, my family owns the both the Crown Arcade and Fruit Parlour.  I run the arcade and my little sister, Lizzie, works at the fruit parlour."

"Little sister?" Bunny interrupted.

Andrew mock frowned at her and continued as if she hadn't interrupted, "I'm attending university with Darien-"

"Poor you!" his twin muttered.

"And should get into medicine in a couple of years.  Reika is my girlfriend Rita-"

"Who Darien believes has totally bewitched Andrew!" Rita interrupted.

"Bewitched?" Bunny asked while Andrew shrugged uncomfortably.

"He doesn't know that when I zone out around her I'm really sharing my heart, mind and soul so he thinks I'm lovesick," he defended himself.

"You are," Bunny quipped with surety, knowing her brother's emotions as well as her own.

Rita grinned and after a moment so did Andrew.  Andrew knew the loneliness his sister often felt as she awaited her soulmate's appearance and he cherished the completion he possessed with Reika.  "Of course," he laughed and looked at Rita, "How could I be anything else?"

***

Bunny shifted uncomfortably, the small form next to her restricting her movements.  "Divine Stars," the teen whispered to herself, "How can anyone so little take up so much room?"  She looked at Rini fondly, mentally shaking her head at herself for being such a soft touch.  "She's a brat, a total spore... yet..."  With a gentle hand Bunny brushed some hair away from the little girl's face.  "She's a perfect little angel- oof!"  The child in question chose that moment to kick out in her sleep and knock the breath out of Bunny.  Bunny frowned wryly at the girl, "On the other hand maybe spore is more apt..."

Bunny yawned; her brother was not the only one who had had both a long day and night before. In truth, she could easily go on for several days without sleep but in the past twenty-four hours she had not only travelled from the moon to Earth but had also begun her investigations and arranged a cover identity.  She smiled sleepily at the thought of her 'family'.  She regretted the necessity of manipulating the Tsukinos' minds yet already adored them, even her younger brother Sammy.  She yawned again and hugged Rini closer to her.

***

_She stood in the centre of a hurricane, winds whipping around her yet leaving her untouched.  She hugged herself as she saw the slender rings in the sky that encircled the planet.  Other arms wrapped themselves around her and she automatically leaned back into the embrace of the man behind her.  She felt his skin against hers, realising but not caring that they were both naked._

_ "Do you like it?" she asked about the world while savouring the feel of his hands stroking her stomach._

_ His breath was warm against her ear.  "It's beautiful, but wild."_

_ "Always has been and always will be no matter what happens.  Aeons ago the people who lived here were renowned for their strength and their endurance."  She paused, thinking of the past and what she hoped for in the future.  "One day I hope Jupiter will once again have children to do him proud," she murmured dreamily._

_ "He still has a daughter who does," the man replied as he nibbled at her neck._

_ "And I shall ensure her planet will one day welcome her home," she declared._

_ His hands began to wander further and she turned in his arms.  Her own moved up to enwrap his neck and her breath caught at the sensations caused by the feel of his body sliding against hers.  His deep blue gaze caught her eyes and she drowned in them.  Her heart reached out, aching to join with his in a glorious merger.  Heedless of the raging storms of Jupiter around them, their souls began to connect-_

***

Bunny started and then murmured sleepily.  Rini kicked out again and Bunny absently soothed the girl with the magic that was ingrained in her.  When Rini breathed easily, Bunny dived back into slumber, hoping to rediscover the dreams that had evoked such peace in her yet were already fading from her memory.


	3. Chapter two

The Law Keeper - Chapter two

First in the Book of the Renewal

By Draegyn

Dragynne2000@yahoo.com.au

Darien leaned against the tall stonewall that surrounded the grounds of the Shinto temple. Not far from him, four teenage girls were gossiping happily and Darien was loath to interrupt them.  To do so would not only subject him to the vagaries of four fifteen-year-old girls but would also threaten the feeling of wellbeing that had possessed him from the moment he had awoken that morning.  A vision of sapphire blue eyes and incredibly soft hair, remnants of the previous night's dreams, surfaced in his mind only to be lost instants later.  He sighed, pushed away from the wall and walked over to the teenagers.

"Hi girls.  Have you got a moment?" he asked.

The four girls looked at him, all mildly surprised that he would come to see them when there was currently no threat to them or their world.  Darien restrained another sigh, hoping that yesterday's events did not herald trouble.

"Sure Darien," Mina Aino answered. "What's up?"

Darien looked around.  The grounds were deserted yet he still felt uncomfortable.  "I don't suppose we could talk in private?"

Raye Hino, the temple's violet eyed priestess, frowned at him but gestured towards the building.  "The contemplation room OK?"

He nodded.  "That's even better than I'd hoped.  I might need you to do a fire reading."

All four of the girls stared at him, apprehension beginning to build.  Lita Kino was a tall, athletic, brown haired girl with striking green eyes.  Ami Mizuno was scholarly and petite with blue-black hair and blue eyes.  Mina had bright golden hair and blue eyes and, as he followed them, Darien could not help but be reminded of another blonde teenager he'd recently become acquainted with.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Raye turned to Darien and demanded, "So what's wrong?"

Darien ran his hand through his hair and sighed audibly. "Nothing at the moment but I think that's about to change."

"What makes you think that?" Amy questioned.

Darien waited a minute before answering, trying to find a way to phrase his concerns so that they would not be dismissed out of hand.  "I met two girls yesterday," he started hesitantly.

"Is that all?" Raye exclaimed.

Mina and Lita both started to grin widely.  "Cool, way to go Darien!"

"We don't need to be subjected to the ins and outs of your love life Darien," Raye retorted.

"Raye!" Amy rebuked, "Maybe he needs advice-"

"Yeah!" Lita burst out.

Mina winked, "We'd be glad to play matchmaker Darien-"

Darien opened his mouth to protest but was forestalled by Raye's scathing reply.  "Oh grow up!" she snapped at her friends before turning back to Darien, "And just because a girl flirts with you doesn't mean you have to make it seem as if the world is coming to an end!"

"Hold it!" Darien bellowed and glared at the four.  "These girls have nothing to do with my private life.  One was an irritating bubble brain that just got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and the other was just a kid."

Seeing the genuine unease in Darien's expression, the girls decided to take him seriously.  "Go on Darien," Raye prompted more calmly.

Darien nodded absently.  "I was in the park arguing with the aforementioned bubble brain, or rather Meatball Head as I've christened her, when a strange cloud appeared over the pair of us and a small pink haired child fell from it.  When we'd all gotten up, she pointed a gun at the Meatball Head and demanded that she hand over the Imperium Silver Crystal."

His audience stared at him as if awaiting the punch line to a joke.  Finally Mina seemed to realize that he didn't intend to elaborate and she shook her head.  "OK, I know the cloud thing's a bit strange Darien but why the big deal?"

Darien narrowed his eyes.  "Aside from the cloud thing as you call it, and what she asked for, there are the visions that I had when I touched her."

"Visions?" Raye asked, her interest piqued by the reference to something that was usually her specialty.

He nodded, his eyes unfocused as he remembered.  "I saw a crystal city with towering spires that radiated light.  There was a woman, she shone with a light even brighter than the city's... I don't think she was human."

"Not human?" Mina whispered, "Part of the Negaverse?"

"NO!" Darien stated emphatically, "She's not evil, could never be evil..."

"Is there anything else?" Raye asked after he trailed off.

Darien shook his head. "Other than dread and anticipation?  No, that's it."

The five of them sat in silence for several moments, each considering the few facts that they knew.

"What's the Imperium Silver Crystal?" Lita finally asked.

"A magical jewel that supposedly contained the ultimate power," Amy answered, "According to legend, it was created at the beginning of time specifically for one person.  The gods then gave it to the keeping of a warrior who was to protect it until its true owner appeared.  Since its true owner was supposed to be female, the gods made it so the warrior's line would only produce males so that they would not be tempted to usurp the crystal's power.  It's a myth that people used to chase, like the Holy Grail."

"No it's not," Darien said quietly.  The girls all turned to him.  Of them, only Amy truly understood what he just said and the ramifications and Darien smiled at her sourly before explaining.  "The warrior it was given to eventually came to Earth where he made both a home and a family.  When he died, it was given to his eldest son to protect.  At that time the royal family of Earth had no sons, only daughters, and back then only males could hold such power.  A seer told the Earth's king that the warrior's line would only ever bear sons and so the eldest princess married the warrior's son, joining the keeper's line to that of the Earth's.

"Over time the Earth evolved and grew more civilized so that it no longer mattered what gender one was as long as you had the skills necessary to complete the task but by then the royal line of Earth were all descended from the original warrior and only sons were born to the main line.  Before the Fall, it was in the keeping of the Royal Lord Tristain, brother to the king.  When Beryl attacked and caused the Fall, Tristain hid the crystal so that only one of the keeper's bloodline could find it.  That kept it safe from Beryl and any other unworthies over the centuries after the Fall."

"Then it's lost," Mina said with a mixture of relief and disappointment, "All of the old bloodlines were lost when Beryl attacked."

"You weren't listening Mina," Raye contradicted, "None of us know much of the past or even how we all came to be reborn but we know that at least one of those bloodlines survived because of that miracle."

Mina frowned and then comprehension dawned and she turned to Darien in astonishment.  "You have the mythical crystal that everyone else would love to have?"

"I am the last of the keeper's line and that is all I can say," Darien stated quietly.

"OK," Raye said decisively, "I'm going to do a fire reading, all of you wait outside."

"Yes Ma'am!" Lita saluted and then led them out of the room.

Five minutes later Darien was still sitting on the steps to the temple while he waited for Raye to finish.  Mina and Lita were talking quietly while Amy read a book.  Darien frowned at Mina for a moment, strange wisps of memory floating just out of reach within his mind.  He had the impression of a harsh scene at direct odds to the soft voice speaking to him.  Just as a face started to form to compliment the voice, Darien's concentration was broken by a distant scream.  He blinked and automatically looked in the direction of the scream.  

Over the temple wall, he saw a beam of light.  Even as he stood, Raye darted out of the temple.  "What is it?" Mina asked.

"Darien's pink haired girlfriend!" Raye responded before she was engulfed in flames.  Instants later, she stood in the uniform she fought in as Sailor Mars and had dashed from the temple grounds before any one had the chance to blink.

The others stared at each other in shock before they each triggered their own transformations and then the scouts were racing in their comrade's wake.  They arrived at the park, less than five minutes later and found a woman with dark blue hair struggling to restrain a little girl.  A black balloon-like object swooped at the woman with almost purple hair.  She shot a stream of black fire that blasted it towards a nearby drain.

"STOP!" Mars yelled out.

The woman looked up and hissed at them, her dark eyes narrowed in anger and the inverted black crescent on her forehead seemed to suck in the light near her.  "Who dares...?"

"We do," Venus declared, "Let the girl go now-"

"Or you'll what?" the woman sneered, "Talk me to death?"

"No," Jupiter growled and an electrical halo seemed to surround her, "If you don't let her go, I will apply about a million volts of electricity to you and see what that does for your hairdo!"

At that moment a rose was hurled and it pierced the woman's hand.  She let go of the girl in reflex and stepped back, cursing. The girl wasted no time and immediately ran into a nearby grove of trees to hide.  Tuxedo Mask watched her go in satisfaction; his roses were possibly his weakest attack but they were always sufficient when precision was required.  When the pink haired child had vanished he turned back to the strange woman who had recovered her equilibrium and had started snarling at them.

"Who are you?" she demanded furiously.

The four girls stood proud while Tuxedo Mask stood to the side.  "We are the champions of love and justice," Venus proclaimed proudly, "The protectors of the innocent and defenders of the Earth, we are the Sailor Scouts!"  Tuxedo Mask sighed a bit at the girl's melodrama but said nothing. If the scouts were more comfortable when they made corny speeches then he would not complain.

"All that and fashion consultants as well?" the woman laughed scornfully as she eyed Jupiter's crackling form.  "You are truly pitiful!" the woman laughed, "You really don't stand a chance against the Darkmoon family, especially the Four Sisters.  I am Catzi and maybe you would like to meet Bertie?"

A fear filled scream sounded from the grove of trees and a moment later a woman with light blue hair in a braid and the same black crescent insignia stepped out of the trees, holding a terrified little girl.

"Don't even think of throwing anything at me Cape Boy," the new woman warned, "If I get hurt then so does the rabbit!  Catzi, call in the droids."

The first woman nodded in acknowledgement and the scouts found themselves surrounded by featureless forms, each marked with a black crescent and each approaching the warriors grimly.  The first of the enemy droids reached Jupiter who released the electricity she had stored, destroying not only it but also the three behind it.  Mars and Venus automatically moved to shield Mercury who started to tap into her tiny tactical computer, analysing the situation.  While the scouts held off the droids, Tuxedo Mask tried to make his way to where the two women were standing with their captive.  Bertie saw him, however, and drew her sister's attention to him.

Over the next couple of minutes, Tuxedo Mask found himself frantically dodging black flames, trying to gain the space to return something more powerful than his steel tipped roses.  A dark energy began to flow around the two women and Tuxedo Mask bit back a curse as he recognised the configuration of a teleportation spell.  They were about to get away, with the girl, and there was nothing he or the scouts could do about it.

Before he had a chance to even finish that thought, a golden discus of light flashed across the park grounds and slashed through the teleportation spell.  Tuxedo Mask smile slightly in grim satisfaction, knowing the pain that both women would be feeling as their spell backlashed.  He did not know who had stopped them but since there was no longer any black fire harassing him he was finally able to do something other than dodge.  As he started to blast the harassing droids with a crimson energy he saw Catzi reel back in pain and then Bertie stumbled and lost hold of her hostage.  Once more the little girl shot off out of reach, this time she headed straight towards the drain and crawled in where no one larger than her could follow.

Their captive's escape enraged the two sisters and they began to retaliate against their attacker in fury.  Tuxedo Mask got the impression of gold, blue and white before he was propelled to the ground.  He looked up into intent blue eyes that winced at him in apology before their owner rolled off of him.  He started to rise but the strange new scout who was laying next to him pushed him down again in time to duck the wave of frigid water that the sister called Bertie shot at them.  He looked across at his companion and was almost overwhelmed by the feelings of familiarity she inspired in him.  Her eyes were sapphire blue and her hair a luminescent gold done in a hairstyle that tugged at something in his memory.  One of her lengthy pigtails trailed across his hand and absently the man noted its extreme softness but most of his attention was focused on the frustration that the girl's face showed.  

Her eyes darted about the battle scene and she frowned in concentration.  Her eyes drifted over him and then darted back to him in a sudden, fierce joy.  Before he knew what she intended she crawled over him and plucked his cane out of his hand.

"Stay down!" she demanded softly of him as she rose to her knees.  The clear globe at the end of the cane began to glimmer and she looked back down at the prone warrior in entreaty.  Tux stared at her, bewildered for a moment before comprehension dawned.

"Scouts Down!" he bellowed.

Ignorant but obeying instantly the four girls dropped to the ground and watched in awe as the strange new scout stood and held Tux's cane out before her.  Suddenly the area was engulfed by a brilliant white light. When it died away, the droids were nothing more than assorted piles of dust and the two enemies were on their knees, dazed by the light show.  Jupiter assessed the situation and immediately grabbed her chance.  A well-placed blow to the woman's temple felled Catzi and another crack turned everyone's attention to where the strange scout stood over Bertie with the cane in hand.

She looked at the surprised girls and shrugged before tossing the short staff back to its owner.  "It makes a good club," she informed him in approval as she knelt by the fallen woman at her feet, "And the thing on the end is an excellent magical focus."

For a few seconds, everyone just stared at her and she rolled her shoulders nervously.  It wasn't until she ripped the red bow from the back of her skirt and used it to tie Bertie up that the others started moving.  Jupiter followed her example and bound up Catzi while Mercury and Venus went to fetch the girl out of the drain.

Tuxedo Mask walked up to the strange scout and knelt to help her shift the unconscious woman.  "Who are you?" he asked as he lifted the woman's body.

The scout didn't answer, instead tying Bertie's hands behind her back.

Jupiter finished Catzi and moved next to the strange scout as she tied off the final knot.  "Please, who are you," the green scout repeated the question, "And why are you dressed as a scout?  Are you a friend?  Where did you come from?"

The scout looked at her in bemusement before she shrugged, slightly bashful.  "I'm sorry but I don't really know where to begin..." she trailed off with a shy smile.

Tuxedo Mask regarded her doubtfully but already his guard was being lowered near her.  Jupiter was a lot faster in admitting her affinity to the girl and said kindly, "Well start with what we should call you."

The blonde shrugged again, sheepishly this time, "Sailor Moon?"  Tuxedo Mask remained silent.  Jupiter seemed to be able to draw more out of the strange girl.

Jupiter's lips twitched, "Fair enough, but why are you dressed as a scout?"  

Moon looked at her, unsure, "Well I kind of needed a disguise so that no one would know me when I fought, so, since you guys were already here, I figured that another scout wouldn't be such a big deal and it kind of fits since I'm going to be helping you while we get this mess sorted out and as long as I'm in Tokyo it'd probably be best if I tried to blend in with the natives and since you guys are the natives I decided to dress like you, but if that's not OK I won't do it again, is it OK?"

Jupiter and Tux regarded her in amazement for a moment.  It was one of the longest sentences either had ever heard and she had spoken it without taking a breath.  

Tuxedo Mask finally got his voice back.  "So you are a friend?"  The blonde nodded and he continued, "You're here to help us?" another nod, "You're called Sailor Moon?" a nod and a weak smile, "I don't suppose-"  His next question was interrupted by a scream and a screech.  The first came from a young girl and the second from an older one.

The three warriors turned simultaneously to find Mars holding a furious Venus back as the scout in orange tried to charge the drain.

"Let me at her!" Venus growled angrily, "I'm gonna kill her!"

"Then you shouldn't have bothered fighting to save her!" Mars retorted as she dragged the blonde away from the drain.

"But she bit me!" Venus wailed.

"She's scared you ditz," Mars replied, exasperated, "She was attacked and you're a stranger, why should she trust you?"

"Why should she trust any of us?" Sailor Mercury asked her teammates as she examined, the now still, Venus.

"Let me try," a soft voice suggested.

Jupiter and Tux looked in surprise to the girl between them as she rose to her feet and moved to stand before the drain.  Once there she knelt and caught the eyes of the child inside.

"Mithrillea lirreial..." Moon said in a voice so gentle that it was impossible to remember that only a few moments before she had knocked somebody out with a cane.  Tux and Jupiter looked at each other in incomprehension before simultaneously turning to Mercury.  The scout in blue shrugged; she had no more idea of what Moon had said than they.

"Come out Rini, you can trust us, we won't hurt you, I promise by the Divine Stars that I'll do everything in my power to ensure that you are never hurt again.  Please..."

The girl's wary eyes stared out for an endless moment before she moved into the light.  Her pink hair was drenched in filthy water and her huge cinnamon eyes teared up.  "By the Divine Stars?  My Mama says that if you break a promise to them then-"

"The very heart of the universe will punish you. It is the most serious oath there is," Moon finished watching the girl compassionately, "Mithrillea lirreial, Small Lady, I swear by the Divine Stars that I will protect you."

The girl hurled herself into the scout's arms with a cry and Moon hugged her closer, whispering to soothe her.  "Shhh, no need to cry, you're not alone, I'm here... we're all here for you."

"Who... ar... are you?" the girl sobbed.

The three scouts who still didn't know awaited her answer, even Tux and Jupiter listened in interest.

"I am the white moon to their dark, the light to their shadow, I am Sailor Moon."

The girl's eyes widened and a weight seemed to disappear from her shoulders.  "You'll help me?" she begged.

Moon nodded, "Yeah, I'll do everything within my power to see that you are returned to where you belong safely."

"Thank you..."

The girl buried her head in the older girl's neck.  Moon stood and swept her into her arms before she turned back to the other warriors.  "Can we meet properly later?  I need to get her home. Is there somewhere we could all get together?  I can tell you everything I know then."

The scouts exchanged glances before they all looked to Tuxedo Mask.  The man understood their silent question and examined the scout in front of them once more.  They could trust her, he decided. She was not the enemy but there was something else, a nagging sense of recognition, which made him edgy.  It was not enough to spurn her offer of help though and he nodded to the scouts.

"Do you know of the Shinto temple on Cherry Hill?" Mars asked as soon as he nodded permission.  Moon nodded and Mars continued, "Meet us there tonight at six-"

"Make it tomorrow morning, say about nine," Moon disagreed.  The other scouts frowned and she looked pointedly at the form in her arms.  "I'm going to question Rini here and see how much she can tell me about what's going on."

Rini's head jerked up and there was a worried expression on her face.  Moon smiled and gently kissed the girl's forehead.  

"Don't worry little one, I won't force you to answer but I must ask them.  If you can tell me anything, anything at all, we'd be a lot better off but I won't force you, I promise."  Rini nodded but before her rescuer could do anything else, she stiffened.

"Luna P!" she cried.  Moon blinked in confusion but saw the strange ball-like object that Rini reached for at the same time as Mars did.  The dark haired scout picked up the strange toy carefully but it showed none of its former activity as she handed it to the girl in Moon's arms. Moon smiled briefly at the others and made a prodigious leap that took her clear out of the park.  "Later..." her voice drifted back.

"It looks like you were right after all," Mars said as she shifted back to Raye.  Tux powered down into Darien and all of the others except for Jupiter followed suit.  The young man sighed and rubbed his head, grimacing at the raw feeling on his face. Some of those black flames had come entirely too close.

"I wish I hadn't been," he mumbled.

"I like her," Jupiter said out of nowhere and everyone looked at her in surprise.  She shrugged, "What?  I'm just saying that I like Sailor Moon and I think it's going to be great having her work with us.  Did you see the way she demolished those droids?  It was so cool!  Man, I wish I could do what ever it was she did."

"It was a blast of pure power," Amy told her, "I'm surprised that she didn't burn her hands off. That must be why she needed your cane Darien, if she hadn't channelled the power through it, she would have severely hurt herself.  It was extremely lucky for her that the knob on it also happened to be conductive towards magic as well as decorative."

Darien stilled immediately as the girl's words sank in.  A suspicion began to grow in his mind but he dismissed it impatiently.  "Come on girls, let's go to the temple.  We have a lot to discuss before tomorrow's meeting.  Jupiter, can you take those two?" he motioned toward the two bound woman and the tall scout nodded.  "Good, we'll meet you there then.  He strode towards the park's exit.  Jupiter hefted Catzi and Bertie and disappeared while the girls trailed in a whispering group.  He ignored their murmurs in favour of his own musings.  She hadn't exactly used the crystalline knob of his cane but she had utilised it. Was it possible that she was the one he and his forefathers had been awaiting?  Was it possible that the true owner of the Imperium Silver Crystal had finally come?

***

"How did you know where I live?" Rini asked as soon as she was on the ground.   Her rescuer winked and motioned for the door.

"Make sure that it's locked would you?  We don't want anyone eavesdropping."

Rini put Luna P on the bed and did so but she looked into the hallway doubtfully first.  "This is Bunny's room, she'll freak if she finds us in here!"

"I don't think so," an amused voice replied.  Rini turned around to find her saviour engulfed in light.  For a single instant she seemed to see the outline of an angel before the light faded away to reveal Bunny Tsukino's smiling face.  The blonde sat down on her bed and patted the mattress beside her.  "Sit down Rini, we really need to talk, starting with the fact that I know that you're not my cousin."

Rini didn't move as she whispered, "How?"

"How what?   How did I know that you weren't my cousin or how did I come to be here?  Oh sit down!" Bunny groaned, "You have my oath remember?"

Rini's eyes widened in sudden comprehension and she sat down beside the older girl easily.  "That's how!" she exclaimed, "That's how come you called me 'Mithrillea lirreial' and how you knew about the Divine Stars, you're-"

"Lunarian, and mind control doesn't work on Lunarians so you couldn't hypnotise me like you did the Tsukinos!" Bunny finished cheerfully and then she sobered abruptly, "Lunarian... like you."  It was a statement rather than a question but Rini nodded anyway.  Bunny accepted the confirmation calmly and asked, "The next question, of course, is what time do you come from Rini?"

The girl jerked back, eyes wide and Bunny placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her.  "I can't-" Rini started but Bunny interrupted.

"Shh Rini.  Let me tell you who I am first.  I am the Guardian of the Law of Selene and it is my duty to ensure that no one comes to or leaves Earth until the interdiction is removed."  The girl's eyes widened further and Bunny nodded seriously.  "That's right, that you're here is against Selene's law and I need to know how it happened.  Now there are two ways for you to be here and since nothing is ever simple for me, I'm guessing you're from the future and that means that you've also broken the Law of Chronos as well.  Would you care to tell me if I'm right?"

Rini nodded mutely and Bunny grinned broadly.  "Great, we're all set then!" she exclaimed.  Rini frowned and Bunny winked at her as she jumped up.  "I know you can't tell me anything spore but I know someone who knows what I can be told.  She's another Law Keeper and an old friend of mine, you might know her, green hair, red eyes-"

"Puu!" Rini blurted.

Bunny blinked for a moment before she understood, "That's right, Setsuna's from Pluto!  Puu... who woulda guessed?"  She shook her head and looked back at Rini, "Anyway you and I'll take a quick trip to the gates of time.  If Chronos' avatar can't help me get this sorted out then I don't know who can!"  The blonde held out her hand to the smaller girl who took it carefully.  "Come on!" Bunny said excitedly, "I can't wait to see Sets again, it's been ages since I saw her last!" 

Rini had barely enough time to shake her head in astonishment at the sheer exuberance that her supposed cousin radiated and grab the still shape of Luna P before a portal appeared before them both.  Bunny darted through, tugged Rini in after her and then the portal disappeared as silently as it had formed.  Rini glanced around to get her bearings after the sudden translocation and was relieved to find that she already knew the featureless landscape.  The older girl had brought her to the strange reality where the Gates of Time stood guarded by the chosen warrior of Chronos.  

Rini looked at Bunny from the corner of her eye and examined the teenager again.  Not a teenager, Rini corrected herself. Even if Bunny was as young for a Lunarian as she looked then it was very likely that she was over fifty Earth years old but even that wasn't right.  She had said that she was Selene's Law Keeper and that meant she was a lot older than that.  Rini remembered her father telling her that all guardians needed extensive training.  The Guardian of the Law of Selene had protected Earth for centuries before Earth had finally been ready to contact the rest of the universe and before that she had had decades of training to become strong enough to do her job.  

Her age wasn't the only thing that was misleading about Bunny, Rini realised. Her 'cousin' must be hiding behind a very powerful illusion to make herself look like as human as she did.  Rini's father was a human and because of that, she found it easy to pass for one herself, even with pink hair.  Bunny, on the other hand, had to be full Lunarian and that meant that she should not look as... ordinary as she did.  In her time, Rini knew very few Lunarians aside from her mother. Most had left with Selene when the interdiction was ended, but if her mother was anything to go by, then Bunny should be so beautiful that it was almost impossible to look upon.  Rini suddenly remembered the brief glimpse of another form obscured by light when Sailor Moon turned into Bunny and perceived that that was probably the other girl's true appearance.

Rini was startled out of her thoughts when a harsh voice called out, "Halt!  You may not pass beyond this point-"

Rini blanched as Bunny laughed and replied back, "You're getting soft in your old age Sets. A century ago you wouldn't have let me get this far!"

"Usagi?" the voice was incredulous and a dark skinned woman materialised in the mists, holding a tall staff that resembled a key.  Rini watched in astonishment as the woman she only knew as enigmatic and aloof, grinned as widely as the blonde and the pair of them threw themselves into each other's arms.  For a second Rini speculated about why Puu had called Bunny 'Usagi' then she rolled her eyes.  It was very unlikely that a Lunarian would be named 'Bunny' and Bunny was roughly what Usagi meant.  They were obviously old friends, of course Puu knew Bunny's real name.  After a moment they pulled apart enough to look at each other properly.

"By the Council Usa, what are you doing here?" the green haired woman asked in wonder.  

Bunny rolled her eyes and directed Puu's gaze to where Rini was standing with the inert Luna P in her arms.

"Small Lady!" Puu gasped and released Bunny before she rushed to kneel in front of Rini.  Rini wasted no more time and threw herself into her friend's arms.  "All is well Rini," Puu soothed, "Everything will be fine."

Rini glanced to Bunny and back furtively, but not subtly enough as both of the older females noticed.  Puu nodded solemnly, "Yes Small Lady, you did right in trusting Sere and telling her that much of the truth."

"But-" Rini began uncertainly.  Puu had always insisted that the Gates of Time were off limits to everyone but Bunny stood there as if coming here were a normal occurrence for her.

"Sere is a special case," Puu interrupted.

"Darn tootin'!" Bunny interrupted with a smile, "I should hope so Sets."

Puu looked at the other girl quellingly and Bunny mimed zipping her lip.  Puu sighed and turned to the blonde for a moment, "You've only been on Earth for two days and you're already acting like a native."

Bunny winked, "TV, it's a marvellous teacher... and that Sailor V game of Sammy's isn't too bad either."

Puu sighed again, "It will be useful in the future I suppose.  Now I suppose you want to know-"

"Everything!" Bunny interrupted and Rini gasped at her sudden change in demeanour.  One moment she was a ditzy teen and the next she was a focused warrior.

Puu nodded and motioned for both Rini and Bunny to seat themselves on the chairs that had suddenly appeared near them.

"You know I can't reveal everything," Puu began and Bunny acknowledged the restriction with an accepting nod.  "Well," the green haired woman continued, "You are aware that Rini is from the future as are the enemy who seek her.  This enemy calls itself the-" 

"Darkmoon family," Bunny interrupted.

"Yes.  They came from outside of our star system and attacked earth.  Unfortunately for them, they underestimated Earth's defences and began to lose the war.  The crux of their problem was Rini's mother, who is very powerful.  They could not defeat her outright so they sought to coerce her through her daughter.  My patron did not approve of this. He is quite fond of Rini's mother, and I was given permission to send Rini to a safer era.  The Darkmoon family cannot triumph without her and so have followed her back."

"Divine Stars..." Bunny groaned, "So we're talking about them transgressing against both Mother and Chronos?!  Why on Earth haven't you done something about them?"

"Because I want them to do this," was the surprising answer.  Rini looked at Puu in surprise and found the magenta eyes focused intently on the blonde.  "In the future, Rini's mother is restricted in what she can do.  As a Lunarian and, especially, a future Council member she cannot use her full power to intervene.  Therefore she cannot deal with them as decisively as they require.  By allowing them to pass by me, though they believe I am not aware of their crime, I have placed them within the reach of one who not only has the power but also the freedom to intervene and finalize the matter."

"I believe Earth criminals call that entrapment," Bunny quipped.

"I call what they were planning to do genocide," Puu retorted darkly.

Bunny dipped her head in acquiescence, "Touché."

"Aside from that there are other matters that you can not be made aware of, other than to know that they are vital to the timeline," Puu went on.

"You're herding a particular future?" Bunny asked and then whistled, "It's been awhile since a specific outcome has been demanded by Chronos."

"The outcome I am trying for has been requested by the Speaker of the Council himself!" Puu replied.  Rini had no idea of what either were talking about but it seemed very serious as Bunny's face had paled at Puu's last comment.

"Whoa!" the blonde whispered and stared at her friend for a moment before she dropped the topic as something that she shouldn't know.  "OK, the spore here-"

"Hey!" Rini objected.

Bunny smiled, winked to show that she meant nothing by it and continued, "The spore has managed to become bait for this little trap you're setting up.  I presume that the scouts, Frog face and me, as Sailor Moon, will be enough, otherwise you would have sent them to a time with either more powerful warriors or when Tranquillity could help.  Since you didn't, I shouldn't need to call in either Luna or Artemis as reinforcements."

"No that won't be necessary," Puu confirmed.

"Then that leaves one last thing I have to ask," Bunny decided, "Why did Rini demand that I hand over the Imperium Silver Crystal?  You know that I don't have it."  Rini stiffened and Puu soothed her absently while Bunny finished, "What good will it do anyway?  Humans can't form soul bonds anymore and only the soulbonded mate of a keeper can use it...  unless of course you know who it was meant for..." Puu stared at her steadily and Bunny hit her head.  "Sorry, forgot just who it was I was talking to."

"Obviously," Puu replied dryly, "Your opinion of my foreknowledge has been expressed often enough."

"OK, but that still doesn't tell me why Rini..."  Puu shook her head and Bunny trailed off.  "So that's something I can't know huh?  Ah well, I guess I better be going now anyway.  I still have to think over how I'm going to deal with that meeting tomorrow.  I'll see ya soon Sets. If nothing else, I can come with Rini when she has to go home."

"I'll return Small Lady in a short while, we need to speak."

Bunny shrugged and smiled, "Sure, later Spore, make sure you're not late though huh?  Mum'll blame me if you are!  Later guys!"

Puu nodded. "Speaker bless thee," she intoned ritually.

"May the Heart bless thee as well Setsuna," Bunny returned just as formally.

"Good hunting Serenity."

Bunny smiled suddenly and with a wink she vanished.

Rini turned to Puu in shock.  "Serenity?" she blurted, "Bunny's..."

The tall woman smiled in confirmation and Rini's mind reviewed all she knew of the Lunarian.  She had only known Bunny for a day and even now that she knew that she was more than she seemed, Rini couldn't help but think of the blonde as the air headed teen she had seemed when they first met.

"You must remember that she is playing a part. She has not shown you even one tenth of what she is, even now," Puu's voice broke into Rini's thoughts.

"But she's so..." Rini started.

Puu nodded.  "I know.  I also know that she has borne enormous responsibility without respite for longer than you can imagine and she has done so alone.  Though she is on Earth for duty, she has the opportunity to relax somewhat and enjoy herself.  Don't underestimate her Small Lady. If you make a slip of the tongue she will catch it and she will not thank you for revealing her future to her.  She knows all too well that ignorance is bliss when it comes to the future."

"But-"

"Like me, Serenity is a Guardian of one of the Gods' laws but unlike me, she must become more.  She must become more than even a Council Member as is her mother before her.  She is beginning to undergo a forging that will last more than a thousand years, yet, if it is successful, it will bring about the renewal of the Heart of the Universe itself.  The coming trials could well break her and she does not need to know of them ahead of time."

"Then why are you telling me?" Rini asked, "What if I make a mistake?"

Puu smiled gently, "I need you to understand just how important some of the things that are going to happen will be.  No matter how cruel it might seem, I need you to play your part."

"I thought I needed to get the Crystal for Mama..." Rini trailed off at Puu's raised eyebrow and then blushed.  "Ohhh..." the girl breathed when she considered some of what she had been told that day.

"You will do well Small Lady," Setsuna, lover and aid of Chronos, told the girl, "You will make your mother very proud."

***

Darien gazed at the night sky from the balcony of his tenth floor apartment.  The stars twinkled madly and the moon was a brilliant crescent yet dark clouds were gathered on the horizon.  It seemed indicative of the state of affairs in Tokyo at that time.  It looked as if everything would stay peaceful yet Darien knew that before long there would be a storm.  He turned away from the spectacular view and left the balcony and closed the glass doors behind him.

He had not been able to extract any information from the two prisoners and was still unsure as to what should be done with them.  Not only that, but tomorrow he would also have to deal with a new warrior who was as large a mystery as the new enemy yet one who's help they needed.  The dark haired man needed his sleep badly; he only hoped that the day's battle did not send him unpleasant dreams.

***

_He seemed to hang suspended in the midst of a gale such as he knew had never been seen on Earth.  Tremendous vortexes swirled around him and he began to tremble at his exposure to the unchecked and elemental power surrounding him.  A soft touch on his shoulder caused any fear he felt to be replaced with a surge of intense emotion._

_ "There's nothing to fear," a clear voice whispered in his ear.  Soft skin brushed against his back and strands of silvery-gold silk swirled around him, cocooning him in a gentle embrace._

_ "I'm not," he replied in a whisper, "I could never be afraid with you at my side."_

_ The hand on his shoulder slid to his chest and was joined by a second.  His companion pulled herself closer and he shuddered in pleasure as she kissed the pulse at his throat.  He could feel her curves resting against him and he completely dismissed any considerations other than his companion.  A quick twist pulled him out of her arms and around to face her.  Her features changed faster than he could follow.  One moment she seemed to be a teenager, the next an adult and after that, something that was both and more.  Yet, for all the aspects she demonstrated, her eyes remained constant.  They were a brilliant sapphire blue that glowed with an inner light and mesmerised him in their sparkling depths._

_ They hung together for an eternity and yet it was nowhere near long enough for him and he was compelled to draw her closer as if by doing so he would be able to swim in that fathomless blue.  His entire being yearned for her and, almost blinded by need, he reached for her in ways that were physical and more.  His lips met hers-_

***

The sleeping shape started as a siren raced past in the middle of the night.  He grumbled quietly, the untimely interruption of his dream having left him filled with yearning but a vague memory of sapphire eyes surfaced and he smiled sleepily.  In the darkness the muscles of an over-burdened young man relaxed completely for the first time in years.  His breathing became deep and even as he slipped back into slumber, Darien was not burdened by nightmares.  Instead it was blessed with teasing visions of the goddess who could only have been born for him alone.


	4. Chapter three

The Law Keeper - Chapter three

First in the Book of the Renewal

By Draegyn

Dragynne2000@yahoo.com.au

Bunny looked up the stairs that led into the Shinto temple at Cherry Hill and fought to restrain her mischievous grin.  It was an expression she did not believe would go down well with the scouts at this moment and although she wanted to enjoy herself, she did not want to alienate them.  Besides she was here on business, not for pleasure, even if she had promised herself that she would have some fun with Darien.  That promise only applied if he hadn't loosened up a little in the couple of days since their first meeting.  If he had, then great, if he was still as uptight and narrow-minded as he had seemed two days ago then she saw it as her duty to open his mind.

Her grin won over her, albeit half-hearted, attempts for self-control and her face was almost split in two by the cheerful expression.  The day was just too beautiful to be serious, despite the fact that a war was just beginning.  She was on Earth, a planet that she had always wanted to see, she was near her brother and she was about to formally introduce herself to four girls whom she'd taken an immediate liking to. Life was good.

She bounded up the steps with the unlimited energy that was characteristic of her, and her long pigtails trailed in her wake.  When she reached the top, she came to a large courtyard in which the temple itself was set.  She saw a tall brunette leaning against the door of the single building with her eyes closed.  Bunny recognised Sailor Jupiter from the both the previous day and Andrew's short description.  For an instant the Lunarian warrior wondered at the deep affinity she felt towards the human teen. Not only was there centuries of difference in their ages but they were literally from two different worlds.  Maybe it was connected to her labours on Jupiter; she tended to attune herself to those she healed and planets seemed to be no different.   Her growing rapport with the gas giant might have spilled over so that she felt a similar connection to the last Jovian as the planet itself did.

With a quick shake of her head, she dismissed her theory for contemplation later and skipped over to the heedless girl.

"Hi!" she chirped happily, "I'm Bunny, I'm guessing that you're one of the ones waiting for me.  Sorry I'm late but I kinda overslept, still not used to the time zone here I guess."

Lita opened her eyes as soon as the blonde's shadow fell across her and listened with a growing smile to Bunny's greeting.  "I believe you're right," Lita murmured before she stepped away from the door.  "By the way I'm Lita."  She held her hand out and Bunny shook it merrily.

The handclasp provided Bunny access to Lita's thoughts without meaning to and for a moment she saw herself through the other girl's eyes, a small blonde teenager who seemed to be about the same age as Lita herself.  Hair that fell in two long streamers to her ankles and blue eyes that shone with good will.  Their surroundings were threaded with strands of power that were connected to the weather patterns of Tokyo.  Almost reluctantly Bunny withdrew her hand and terminated the connection between the pair of them.  Lita was a true daughter of Jupiter, she saw the world with eyes of one who could call storms.

"Come inside," Lita told her, "We have a lot to talk about."

"Boys?" Bunny asked innocently and Lita looked at her sideways.  Bunny's eyes were dancing with amusement at the other girl's reaction to her small test.  Lita's bemused look disappeared after a couple of seconds to be replaced with an eager one.  One that, Bunny noted, was loaded with the brunette's own amusement.

"Sure!" Lita chuckled, "And while we do you can give me all the facts about you and Tux.   You seemed pretty tight yesterday."

Bunny laughed. At least one of the scouts had a sense of humour  "Sorry," Bunny said cheerfully, "Just teasing."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Lita returned magnanimously and winked, "Boys are on the agenda, we do have our priorities after all!"  Lita gestured for Bunny to follow her and then led her into the building.  A couple of minutes later they came to a large room with flickering lighting.  Lita prompted Bunny to enter before her and when she did, she found a lit fire pit at the room's centre.  Sitting near it was a girl with black hair that Bunny knew would be Raye, a.k.a. Sailor Mars.  Her eyes were closed and she seemed to be in a deep trance.  Near the wall, on the other cushions, were two other girls, one with blue-black hair and the other with blonde hair.  Bunny immediately fitted her brother's descriptions with the faces and recognised Amy and Mina.  Only one other person was in the room and he was standing with his back to the door as he stared out a window.

As soon as Bunny entered the room Amy and Mina noticed her and looked to Lita behind her.  She felt Lita's smile of assurance behind her and absently wondered if it was meant for her or for the other girls.

"Guys this is Bunny, Bunny the blonde is Mina, Amy's next to her, Raye is the one who's zoned out and tall, dark and brooding by the window is your boyfriend from yesterday, Darien."

The girls smiled in greeting but before any words could be exchanged Darien had turned to inspect the new arrival and his reaction was everything that Bunny could have hoped for.

"Meatball Head?!" he yelped.

Her course of action was decided and she adopted an expression of shock and horror as she screeched back, "FROG-FACE!!!  No!  It's not possible!"

All of the girls stared at them in surprise. Amy and Mina half rose off of their cushions,  Lita began to reach out as if to restrain one of them but stopped in confusion and Raye jerked back to reality by the noise.  Bunny watched in admiration as the dark haired teen took in the indignant stranger, her friends' shock and Darien's irritation in a single glance.

"What's going on here?" the priestess demanded.

Lita shrugged, still confused, while Bunny pretended to seethe as Darien snapped, "That's the Meatball Head!  What on Earth do you think you're up to bringing her here Lita?"

His tone of voice began to truly sour Bunny's mood and, more angrily than she had intended, she shouted, "Don't call me Meatball Head you egocentric, frog-faced jerk!"

He sneered at her and Bunny resolved then and there that she would do everything with in her power to make his life a living misery.  She forgot about having fun. With the scouts she would have fun, but with Darien, it had become personal.  Either he stopped being such a pompous twit or she'd drive him bonkers.  

"By the Divine Stars, I so swear," she growled under her breath but Raye still heard her.

"Sailor Moon?" she asked doubtfully.  

Darien looked at her and Bunny relished his expression as realisation rolled over him.  "Please no," he muttered as he looked to the ceiling, as if he were begging a god for mercy.  "Please, no one would be that cruel.  She's a klutz and she's our ally?  What did I do to deserve this?"

Bunny mentally rolled her eyes at his melodramatics and her expression became one of disgust.  "He's Tuxedo Mask?  No wonder he wears one, who'd ever think he was cool if they ever saw what was under it!  I should have brained him instead of Bertie yesterday-"

"I'm surprised you didn't," he growled at her, "You're coordination couldn't be worse if you were drunk."

Bunny ran through her options quickly within her mind.  She could insult him back and their little verbal war could continue indefinitely, which would waste time.  She could surrender and let him think he'd won. Not in this lifetime.  Or she could do something that would really tick him off.  Of course it could tick the scouts off as well but if she was lucky, Lita would understand and explain what she was doing.  In less than half a second, she decided and took a deep breath.

"WAAAHHHHH!  Why are you being so mean to me?"

Bunny watched through slit eyes as Darien stumbled back and she savoured the astonishment on his face.  The sheer volume of her cry alone would have been enough to stagger him but the tears that had started to fountain from her eyes added the finishing touch.  It was through an act of extreme will power that she kept her sobs from turning into unrestrained laughter as she watched his face go from surprised to disgusted to worried and then to frantic.

"Hey Meatball Head, you don't have to cry," he babbled.

She only wailed louder, "WAAAHHHHH!" 

He began to back up further and Bunny found that she had to hide her face in her hands so that he wouldn't see the grin that she could no longer restrain.  Her shoulders no longer shook from her mock sobs but instead with the force of her laughter.  Bunny felt arms go around her and heard someone in the background shouting at Darien.

"Get out of here you idiot, before you make it worse."  There was a pause and then footsteps as he quickly escaped the room.  "It's okay now," the same voice informed her, "He's gone, you don't have to hide anymore.  By the way, that was masterful!"

Bunny looked up at Lita's twinkling eyes and her chuckles broke free.  "I'm sorry," she gasped, "I just couldn't help it, he's such a...  such a..."

"Man?" Mina suggested from the side and then she and Lita joined Bunny in her laughter.

"Did you see the way he bolted?" Lita howled and the three of them collapsed onto the wooden floor.

"Ooooh," Mina said several minutes later, "I needed that."

"So did I," Lita admitted and saw Amy regard the prone trio with bafflement.  "He deserved it Amy."

"Deserved what?" the petite teen question with a frown.

Raye snorted but a small smile flickered around her own lips.  "Don't worry about it Amy, they were only fooling around while we should have been working."

Bunny sat up and turned to face the priestess.  "I'm sorry Raye, but you should know that I plan to behave pretty much like that whenever he's around."

"What?" the teen growled, "Why?"

"If he wants a Meatball Head," Bunny told her darkly but there was a twinkle of mischief in her blue eyes, "I'm gonna give him one!"  Both Amy and Raye open their mouths to protest but Bunny forestalled them.  "Oh don't worry," she assured them, "It won't get in the way of anything but just don't get upset if I'm tripping, spacing out and acting like an airhead around him.  It ought to be interesting to see how long he can put up with it."

"Oh Darien's the original man of stone," Mina said mournfully, "He'll just ignore it."

"Like he did just then?" Lita asked and Bunny saw the possibilities run across the taller girl's mind.

"Would anyone care to make a wager?" Bunny inquired innocently, "I will bet anyone a chocolate sundae that I can get Darien to beg for forgiveness before I leave when this mess is sorted out."  Lita and Mina frowned at her and Bunny shrugged.  "I have a point to get across to him anyway, I may as well get fed in the process."

Raye regarded her thoughtfully for a moment before she nodded.  "You're on. If you win we buy you a sundae, if you win you have to buy us all sundaes."

"You lot chip in for one while I buy four?  No thanks," Bunny refused, "One from each of you, if you don't mind.  Trust me, none of them'll go to waste."

"Deal," Raye said and held out her hand.

"And no interference either," Bunny added as she shook it.

"OK, now that the fun's over, let's get down to business," Mina advised them, "Lita would you get Darien back here?  Thanks.  By the way Bunny you said you were leaving, I take it you're not in Tokyo permanently then?"

Bunny shook her head.  "No, just for as long as I'm needed."

"We need you?" a sour voice asked from the door.

Bunny made her lip tremble as she faced Darien and, to her delight, he hastily shut up.  Bunny had turn away quickly to ensure that she didn't start laughing again and saw Mina do the same thing.  Wordlessly the two blondes made themselves comfortable on the cushions while everyone waited for Bunny to start to explain.  It was Raye who lost patience first.

"OK Meatball Head."  Bunny glared at her but didn't comment as Raye continued, "What's going on?  What's your story?  And what's with the kid?"

Bunny discarded some of her levity to answer, if not seriously, then at least believably.  "I guess it all started a few weeks ago with the dreams."  That was true, even if they weren't her dreams.  "They weren't definite or anything but they firmly indicated that something was going to happen and that I would be needed."  All true, now for the first lie, although it may actually be true.  "In a past life I was a healer and I still can do healing magic as well as the two battle spells I used yesterday but I have no idea how."  Now that was a whopper!  "Since everything weird happens in Tokyo I came here and viola!  The next day I get to try out my new costume."

"You chose Tokyo because...?" Darien prompted.

Bunny shrugged.  "I told you all the weird stuff happens here." Suddenly inspiration struck the Lunarian and she bounced on the cushion as she adopted a vapid expression and babbled on, "Besides you have all of the neat comics here and I've always wanted to come here besides there was a special on airfares to Japan and so I thought, 'why not?' and here I am!"

Darien looked at her incredulously before he closed his eyes in disgust.  Bunny rolled her own eyes and saw Amy close her mouth in sudden comprehension as Mina elbowed her in the ribs.

"All right," Raye said as she watched the by play, "I'll buy that-"  Darien snorted but the girls all ignored him.  "-What about the girl though?" 

Bunny noticed that Darien now waited intently for her answer and reflected that, even if he was a stiff, he knew what to listen for.  "Well her name's Rini," she started, "And she didn't tell me much other than that the Darkmoon family want her for some reason-"

"Which we figured out yesterday," Darien muttered quietly.

Bunny debated momentarily about whether or not to retaliate and decided that it wasn't worth the effort.  "Whatever.  Anyway she used Luna P to hypnotise my parents into thinking that she was their niece and is currently living with me."

"What?!!" 

Bunny shrugged.  "What can I say?  She's either majorly lucky or I'm unlucky... probably both.  She hogs the bed!" her voice held a touch of genuine outrage and she rubbed her thigh absently.  The girl must play soccer in her dreams. 

"Is that all you were able to find out?" Mina asked.

"Pretty much. If we want to learn anything about the enemy we're going to have to ask the pair we caught yesterday."

The girls exchanged glances and as one they all looked to Darien.  Bunny lifted an eyebrow in enquiry at him and he shrugged.  "We questioned them yesterday, they tried to escape, their spell backlashed on them and now they're both in comas."

"The damage is irreversible," Amy added.

Bunny restrained a sigh of exasperation.  "I'm a healer remember?" she prodded their memories, "I may only be able to do two spells in a fight but I'm very good at healing.  I know how to fix backlash shock, just take me to them."

"Anything's worth a try," Mina said to the unspoken question of the others.  She stood and offered her hand to Bunny who took it easily.  "Just follow me."

Bunny nodded but stopped when she saw that everyone was making to follow her.  "I'm sorry," she said to them, shaking her head, "But I won't be able to concentrate with all of you there."  Raye narrowed her eyes in suspicion and Bunny bit off a sharp retort.  Why wouldn't they just give her a chance?  "Look," she compromised, "One of you would be okay but no more."

Amy stepped forward.  "I'll go, I can monitor what you're doing and I'm the quietest here."  Bunny nodded in acceptance and Mina stepped aside as the dark haired genius took her place as guide.

***

She soothed a final pathway and moved back so that she could see the whole.  The woman's aura was now a healthy blue-violet with no indication of either the trauma of a backlashed spell or the coercions which had laced her mind.  With a groan of relief Bunny opened her eyes and found Amy staring at her respectfully.

"You did it," the teen told her, "They're both waking up even as we speak.  My readings say that they're both fine and that you did something else to them as well."  Amy paused and looked at her searchingly.  "You cleared certain thought centres of brainwashing didn't you?"

Bunny shrugged and stretched.  "I couldn't just ignore them, they felt wrong and were hurting them.  They might not be our enemies anymore either."  Both of them glanced to the foreheads of the two women where the black crescents no longer marred their skin.

"So they should answer our questions then," Amy deduced.

"Maybe...  I hope so but maybe they chose to be bad willingly and the brainwashing was only to make sure... We're about to find out anyway. Bertie's awake.  I'll get the others while you watch over them."

Amy nodded.  "Very well... and Bunny I'm glad you're here to help."  

Bunny smiled happily at the reborn Mercurian before she walked away.  Amy's statement was one of trust, respect and confidence that also offered her a hand in friendship.  That one simple sentence warmed Bunny and her smile didn't fade even when she found herself face to face with Darien.

"It's done?" he interrogated her as he appeared in the doorway.  Beyond him the three remaining reincarnates had noticed her and she nodded at all of them.

"Uh huh, Bertie's awake and Catzi'll be soon as well.  Oh," Bunny added offhandedly to Darien's receding back, "By the way, they were brainwashed and I kinda healed them of it and maybe they'll be on our side now."

"Brainwashed?" Darien halted mid stride and turned back to Bunny.

She shrugged, ignored his silent desire for elaboration and looked at him blankly when he stared at her.  After a moment he shook his head impatiently and disappeared from sight.

"Before you ask," she told the girls behind her, "Brainwashing is like a mental illness which is as distinctive to me as a broken leg.  The patterns of the minds were wrong, I fixed them the same way I'd fuse two bones together."

From the corner of her eye she saw Raye's mouth snap closed as her question was answered before she had a chance to voice it.  The four girls followed slowly after Darien and after a moment the raven-haired teen asked, "Well why did you tell us and not Darien?"

"What, and give him the impression that I'm competent?  Perish the thought," Bunny said dryly.

"Remember that your animosity towards Darien isn't to get in the way of business," Mina warned.

Bunny smiled reassuringly at the other blonde.  "Don't worry, I won't endanger anyone.  Besides," she quipped and tossed her head, "I don't hate Frog-face, I just think he's an egotistical, pompous jerk."

"Oh, so long as you don't hate him then," Lita said wryly.

Bunny sobered then, although she kept her smile pasted on her face and so the scouts didn't catch the seriousness of her reply as she reflected aloud, "I don't hate, I never have and never will.  Hate is a disease."  She fell silent then for what she had said was true and went even further than that.  She was a Law Keeper.  As such she served the Council and therefore the ideal that the Council strove for.  Hate was an enemy of civilization and of life and thus was as much her enemy as any alien that invaded Earth.

"-Bertie, the third of the four sisters of deception who serve Crimson Rubius."  The woman's voice was nervous but strong and it broke off as the four girls entered the room where Darien had already begun to question her and her sister.  The woman's blue eyes flicked over the newcomers and paused on Bunny.  After a couple of seconds she realized that she was staring and said, "You're the one who healed us aren't you?"

Catzi looked at her as well and Bunny was pleased that they'd both taken the messages she'd left in their minds to heart.  Both knew that they'd broken the Laws of two gods and therefore would have to stand trial and both seemed to be willing to avoid further transgressions.  They would reveal neither their extraterrestrial nature nor their origin in the future and so the damage done by their presence would be minimized.  Bunny nodded in response to their question, thus she also admitted her position as a Law Keeper.  Later, she would seek out the both of them and explain what would happen to them but for the moment she could be no more than the scout who had healed them.

"Thank you," both women whispered emphatically as they reached out to her.  Bunny smiled and accepted their hands for a moment before she moved back to listen.

Bertie hugged her younger sister and explained their relief, "As I said, my sisters and I serve Rubius who is one of the commanders of the Darkmoon family.  We wanted to conquer the Earth for our prince and at the start, it was no more sinister than that.  Then the mind controls were put in place, just in case, and things started to go wrong.  We couldn't even get a foothold on Earth and then we were told we needed to capture the rabbit if we wished to win so we followed her to Tokyo where we met you."

"Why Rini?" Mina asked.

Bertie shrugged.  "Because her mother was the one stopping us and our prince needed her as a hostage."

"Mother?" Bertie shrugged, the little that she knew was restricted, and Mina looked to Amy.  Bunny bit her lip, she knew an explanation that, although true, would misguide the scouts but she didn't want the suggestion to come from her. Luckily Amy soon inferred the same solution.  

"We've been reborn and Bunny's obviously the same.  Maybe there are even more..."

"Reincarnates," Bunny murmured quietly.

Amy nodded in acknowledgement and Bunny ignored Darien's glance.  "Maybe there are even more reincarnates out there and Rini's mother could be one of them."

Mina sighed and turned back to the sisters.  "So you don't know any more about her?"  Bertie shook her head and Mina continued, "Okay so tell us of the rest of the Darkmoon family, what about your prince?"

"Emerald, Rubius and Sapphire are the prince's commanders.  We've never had much contact with Emerald or Sapphire-"

"Prisma has," Catzi contradicted and Bertie shook her head.

"That stopped before we started this," Bertie turned back to the Darien and the scouts and explained, "Prisma is our eldest sister and Sapphire is Prince Diamond's brother.  When Diamond began his plans, Sapphire was the first to be drawn into them and the relationship he had with our sister just died.  He is his brother's right hand man and creates the droids that we use rather than involving himself directly in battles."

"He used to be open and friendly but that changed," Catzi added.

"Everything's changed," Bertie agreed, "Diamond started out as our saviour but he's become our master.  You can't disagree with him anymore. He'll either compel you to bow to his will or he'll..."

"Kill you.  His power has increased lately and he can make anyone do as he wants but he seems to relish destruction."  Catzi frowned miserably when she finished speaking and Bertie picked up the topic.

"He's become unstable.  He obsesses over some things and ignores others.  He won't acknowledge defeat and has become fixated on the rabbit's mother.  Because she defies him, he's got to dominate her but he can't.  He won't be able to even if he does catch Rini; the rabbit's mother is just too strong."

The two sisters changed the subject and began to talk about their other sisters and Rubius where it became obvious that Catzi had been controlled by her affections for her commander; affections that had survived her healing but which would no longer control the woman.  Bunny listened absently and stored the information for later consideration, more involved in musing over the description of Rini's mother.  She wondered if she knew the woman or if she had yet to be born.

***

Darien walked away from the temple, deep in thought.  Behind him the four scouts, no, it was five now he reminded himself, were advising Catzi and Bertie of what they should do next.  After he had suggested that they find themselves an apartment he had not seen a reason to remain in proximity to the Meatball Head for a moment longer.  He shook his head in disgust. She was a ditz as well as a klutz and both were qualities that he had little time for.  He had little in common with the scouts before this but their ready acceptance of the dizzy blonde showed that he had even less than he thought.

He dismissed thoughts of the annoying girl and thought of the enemy instead.  There were two more sisters, three commanders and the prince to deal with, along with what ever droids they had with them.  The sisters' knowledge of the powers of the rest of their family was minimal but they had been able to list the capabilities of Prisma and Avery, their last two sisters.  He was abruptly jarred out of his thoughts when a black ball propelled itself into his left shin.  He grunted in surprise and grunted again when he examined the ball and recognised it from the day before.

"Luna P!" a young voice cried out, "Luna P, where are you?"

"It's near the path," he called back and waited.  Moments later the, now familiar, pink haired girl appeared from behind several bushes.  She stopped when she saw him and looked at him suspiciously.

"Who're you?"

"My name's Darien, Rini," he told her as he kneeled to look her in the eyes, "We met a couple of days ago, you were with your cousin, the Meatball Head."

"Meatball Head?  Oh!  You mean Bunny," Rini suddenly smiled and giggled, "Yeah I guess she is a meatball head."  The giggles faded after a second and the child said seriously, "But her hair is the same as mine is and mine is like my mother's and she's not a meatball head!"

Darien swept over the girl with a glance and took in her pink hair, styled into cone shaped buns and shoulder-length pigtails, her sober mien and her ruby eyes.  Her also noticed her resemblance to her cousin and filed it away for later consideration, they weren't actually related after all.  "I'm sure she's not," he assured her, "But your cousin most definitely is."

For a moment Darien thought that she would argue with him but she paused in thought for a moment before she nodded.  "Uh huh, she's a klutz and a ditz."

Darien dismissed the sly smile that she wore as she said it and looked around.  "You shouldn't be alone should you?"

Rini shrugged.  "Auntie Ilene was busy and I wanted to play," she explained to him and he looked at her seriously.

"You shouldn't be alone," he repeated, the rebuke gentle but stern. "What if something had happened to you?  You have to be careful."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "But I wanted to go out."

"That doesn't make a difference.  What if someone tried to hurt you?"

"I'd run away," she replied defiantly.

He stared at her seriously.  "But that won't always help you, sometimes the bad guys can run faster."  Her eyes dropped and she looked away.  "I want you to promise me that you'll stay with someone and never go out alone."

"I promise," she whispered reluctantly and started to walk away.

"Where are you off to now?" he asked her.

She stopped and turned back to him.  "Back to Auntie Ilene's, you said I wasn't to go out alone remember?"

"Well I'm here," he told her, "And I'm heading to the arcade so if you'd like come along I'll buy you an ice cream on the way."

She grinned and squealed as she threw herself into his arms.  Even as he adjusted himself to her sudden weight his mind was reeling from the visions that swept across his sight.  He saw the same city made of crystal that he had seen two days before.  Within the city was a palace of the same crystal and within the palace, encased in more crystal laid a woman that stole his breath away.  The glimpse of her still features was brief but it was long enough for her to inspire a sense of familiarity in the man.

"Thank you Darien," the girl cried and shattered the vision.

He shook his head and returned his attention to the child in his arms.  She could be no more than six years old and he was surprised to realise just how protective he felt of her.  It was as if she were a treasure that had been given to him for safekeeping.  What seemed strangest to him was that he felt as strongly about guarding her as he did about the crystal.  But he forgot about that as the rightness of her presence sank in.  He had never felt anything like it before; it was as if she belonged with him and that was something he hadn't felt since his parents had been killed when he was six.  He didn't remember his life before he was orphaned and his memories of his life as Earth's prince were too nebulous for him to trust.  But to Darien the girl felt like family.

***

Serenity materialized unobtrusively within the confines of the small apartment.  She wore only the slightest of illusions, the same one she had used in her brother's home and no more or less than she would have held over herself to conceal her wings had she been on the moon.  She regretted her inability to give advance notice of her visit as well as the manner of her arrival but she had only a little time before Ilene Tsukino expected her 'daughter' home for dinner.  She needn't have worried for both Catzi and Bertie were waiting for her.

"We'd wondered when you would come," the darker of the two sisters told her as she motioned for the Lunarian to sit.  

Serenity pondered her approach for a moment before she nodded and became Bunny once more.  Bunny took the seat offered gratefully and sat so that she faced her two ex-enemies.

"So you know why I'm here?" she asked them.  She had implanted certain facts in their minds before she had finished healing them but she had to ensure that they now knew them all consciously.

Catzi looked down and answered, "Because when we followed Diamond, we came back in time and that broke the Law of Chronos and, in the time we came back to, Earth was quarantined and by coming here we also broke the Law of Selene."  She forced herself to meet Bunny's eyes.  "You're Selene's guard and so you have to deal with us."

Bunny smiled kindly at her.  "That pretty much sums it up," she admitted, "While you're on Earth you will have to obey the stipulations I've given you - don't reveal anything about the future or where you really come from.  Other than that you're pretty much free to do anything other humans do.  I've already neutralised your magic and it'll remain dormant until we all leave Earth, which we must do as soon as the rest of your kin have been caught.  Then I will take you to the Silver Keep where you will go before Selene, and maybe Chronos as well, for judgment. You shouldn't have too much to worry about though. Like me, Selene believes in second chances and Chronos tends to listen to her."

"You're so sure?" Bertie asked doubtfully and Bunny nodded wistfully.

"Aye, I know both Selene and Chronos and I assure you that both are just and merciful."

They looked on her with awe.  "Who are you?"

"I..." Bunny shrugged uncomfortably, she knew what would happen if she told them that she was Selene's daughter and she did not want them to be uneasy with her.  "I'm Usagi."  It was her name, at least to those she could be informal with.  "In my language it means rabbit." She smiled faintly in remembrance. Her mother had given her that name when she had been a little less than a standard year old and at about the same time her twin had gained the pet name of Motoki.  

"And so you call yourself Bunny on Earth," Catzi concluded in delight, "Doesn't Earth have legends about a rabbit in the moon?"

Bunny grinned, relieved to have put the women at ease.  "Yes and that's one of the things that I found amusing when I found that I was staying with a family called Tsukino." 

"Oh?"

Bunny shrugged.  "It's been so long since the interdiction began that a few words of the high tongue have reappeared in other languages, albeit with different meanings, like tsukino.  If you were to translate it, Tsukino Usagi means the rabbit in the moon."

"That's sweet," Bertie giggled.

"I thought it was," Bunny agreed modestly before she sighed and stood.  "Well Bunny Tsukino will be in trouble if she doesn't get home soon so I'd better be off.  I just wanted to make sure that you understood everything."

Both of her companions nodded and stood.  "If we can ever help-"

"I'll ask," she assured them and started to perform the teleportation spell.

"Wait," Catzi cried suddenly.

Bunny stopped and looked at the dark haired lady curiously as she reached toward her.

"What about the others?" she questioned and Bertie blinked.

"Oh yes!  What about our sisters?"

"And... Rubius, and the others of course."

Bunny bit her lip.  "I don't know," she told them, "I guess I'll try to catch and heal them if I can." The sisters both broke into grateful smiles and Bunny's stomach sank.  "Only if I can, remember," she warned them, "If I can catch and separate them, all well and good but I can't risk the scouts or Rini being hurt."

"We know," the elder sister assured her, "But that's more than we deserve."

The blonde stared at them for a moment before she shook her head.  "Don't say that, it's not true.  There's more to this than you'd think.  You're family has no idea what it's gotten itself entangled in."

With that Bunny teleported to a secluded area in the park and left the two sisters to puzzle out her last remark.

***

Bunny sat in the window, her back against one side, one foot on the other and her second foot dangled outside as she gazed up at the moon, her beautiful yet barren home.

_*Mama?* she called out silently._

Almost instantly she was engulfed in the warm and soothing presence of her mother.  _*My precious Serenity, how are you faring?*_

Bunny smiled happily_.  *I'm well Mama, as is Toki.*_

_ *And Reika?*_

_ *You should know that if my brother is well then so is she,* Bunny answered cheekily._

She wasn't surprised that her mother also caught the touch of envy in her mental voice.  _*Ah, Serenity, my little Usagi, keep faith.  Your love will arrive when the time is right.*_

_ *I know Mama,* she sighed,  __*It's just that sometimes it seems as if I'll be alone for ever.  How can you bear to be apart from Papa for so long?*_

_ *Your father and I are always together.  We share a heart and a soul and so are never apart.  Oh my poor little one, do not worry.  One is coming for you and in his presence even the memory of loneliness will vanish.*_

_ *I hope so...*  Bunny shook off her self pity and continued, more business like, __*That's not why I'm bespeaking you though. I'm afraid the situation is more serious than we'd thought.*_

_ *More serious than a Lunarian child from the future being accosted by alien warmongers?  How can that be?*  Serenity's voice was shocked and filled with dread._

Bunny's tone was serious as she related the new information to her mother.  _*I'm afraid so.  Those alien warmongers don't seem to be the real enemy after all.*_

_ *How so?*_

_ *I can't be sure until I've met all of them but I believe that another being is controlling them all.  The two women that we captured yesterday were riddled with very powerful coercions.  For a time I feared that I would need to banish my illusion of humanity to destroy them.  I am just fortunate that whomever placed them within the sisters' minds was careless.*  Bunny's phrasing became more and more formal as she continued._

_*Are you aware of who or what?*_

_ *Nay, all that I know is that this being is powerful, very powerful.  Possibly more so than I.*_

_ *We cannot abandon Earth.*_

_ *Such a course of action is unacceptable.  I believe it would be best if I were to continue and finish** what has begun, yet I must be allowed more direct intervention if the circumstances require.***_

_ *Must you?*_

_ *I regret so, yet not until the unknown one reveals itself.  Until then I shall be no more than Sailor Moon to the reincarnates.*_

_ *Aye daughter, if you deem it necessary, yet be prepared to remould the memories of the reincarnates if they should discover too much.*_

_ *Of course, both I and Tranquillity will ensure that troubles do not escalate.*_

_ *The Heart bless thee Serenity.*_

_ *And you also Mama.*_

_ *Be careful my little Usagi.*_

_ *I will Mama, I love you.*_

Bunny blinked and the physical world came back into focus for her.  She remained where she was and relished the calmness that she always felt after speaking with her mother.  She looked up at the wealth of stars shining in the night sky.  She had seen starscapes more breathtaking but at that moment it seemed as if the night sky was most beautiful when seen from a bedroom window on Earth.  She had once promised herself that she would go to those distant stars and visit the worlds that orbited them but that had been before she had seen the wild storms of Jupiter, the red wastes of Mars, the rings of Saturn, the oceans of Neptune.  Before she had become a Law Keeper and a healer.  And before she had come to Earth.

There was something about Earth that made it special and caused her to never regret undertaking guardianship.  There was a nobility in humans that, as limited and barbaric as they were, still managed to shine through.  In a way, Earth's reborn prince represented the human condition perfectly.  He was rude, arrogant, judgmental, cold and stubborn yet despite his seeming belief in his own superiority, he struggled to shield many who were even worse than he was.  He risked his life to defend his world and his people and demonstrated that there must be more to him than could be seen on the surface, much like humanity.  Frog-face and protector of the Earth, one and the same.    

Suddenly she snorted in annoyance.  Aggravating man, he irritated her even when he wasn't there.  She was going to have to teach him his lesson quickly, not being able to get along with somebody got on her nerves.

***

_She could see three moons overhead and she recognised Io, Callisto and Ganymede.  The shadows of several more lay near the horizon and Jupiter's thin rings split the sky.  She stood in a puddle of water up to her waist.  It had been left from a recent storm but for the moment the immediate area was calm.  Suddenly her legs were swept out from under her and she fell back into the deep puddle.  Her head was submerged in the water and, after a split second of surprise, she pushed back to the surface to find a grinning face._

_ "What do you think you're doing?" she sputtered indignantly._

_ His grin just broadened as he knelt in front of her, the water coming up to his bare chest, and he reached to pull her close.  "I'm toying with you," he whispered throatily into her ear, "Just like you do with me."  Then he began to nibble at her neck; all the while, he held her tightly to him._

_ "How..." her voice wavered as his lips worked their way up her throat towards her mouth.  "How have... I toyed with... you?" she managed to ask before he sealed his lips onto hers._

_ "Surely you don't need to ask," he said against her cheek an eternity later._

_ Abruptly she tried to move away from him, her hands pushed at his shoulders so that when he released her she fell back and it was only his quick reflexes that prevented her from going under once more.  She thrust her fists into the muddy bottom of the puddle for balance as she stared at him.  His black hair was drenched, his face was lit by an expression of irrepressible deviltry and his deep blue eyes twinkled lovingly at her as one of his hands moved from her waist to her breast.  Then her lips twitched and before he realised what she was up to, she had drawn her muddy hands across his face and left it smeared with muck._

_ He remained still for only a moment before the shock had worn off and he got his revenge.  She found muddy lips pressed to hers but she forgot about the dirt as the taste of him overwhelmed her.  When he drew back she was breathless and he smirked at her._

_ "Now, my little tease, be prepared to pay the price-"_

***

"-Pay the price if you fall asleep on that window sill young lady!"

Bunny jerked upright and looked around while she blinked madly.  "Mum?" she stuttered after a moment and Ilene Tsukino sighed.

"Come on, in to bed with you Bunny.  If you stay there you'll fall out and break your neck."  Ilene led her sleepy daughter to her bed and pulled the blonde hair out of its buns.  As soon as the last pin was removed the teenager fell back into her pillow and Ilene smiled tenderly.  "What were you dreaming of out there Bunny?"

Bunny yawned and blinked woozily.  "I dunno," she mumbled, "I forget."

Ilene chuckled and tucked her daughter in.  "Good night little princess and sweet dreams," she whispered as she stood and walked to the door.  She looked back as she turned off the light and chuckled once more before she closed the door.  She hoped that Bunny would remember the dream in the morning. It would be a pity if she forgot her dream lover, especially if it meant that her mother never got to hear about him.


	5. Chapter four

Just a note peoples: I don't speak Japanese.  My attempts to learn it were crushed before high school and what little I know can be attributed to the number of fanfics I read.  So, when the characters are speaking the High Tongue, be prepared for an equal mix of gibberish, something vaguely Welsh and a little bit of Japanese thrown in for good measure.

A couple of guides:

1. fy braud = brother mine

2. Motoki ap Serenity no braud sort of means (when my gibberish is taken into account) my brother, Motoki, son of Serenity.

3. And, if you couldn't already tell, Mithrillea lirreial is totally made up and the same nonsensical kind of words will be used later for similar titles to 'Small Lady'.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Law Keeper - Chapter four

First in the Book of the Renewal

By Draegyn

Dragynne2000@yahoo.com.au

            "I have to admit Dare, occasionally you do manage to come up with a good idea," 

            "Thanks," Darien drawled sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

            Andrew winked at him before going on, "It's a perfect day to go to the pool but what made you, mister stick-in-the-mud the first, come up with such a brilliant idea?"

            "I've just had the urge to go swimming for no particular reason ever since I woke up this morning."

            Andrew lifted his eyebrows and his face showed his disbelief at that. Darien couldn't blame him. Usually he did have a reason for everything he did, but he'd told his blonde friend the truth.  He really didn't know why he wanted to stretch out in an expanse of water.  All he knew was that the pool was the nearest available site for him to satisfy his peculiar craving for aquatic exercise and if an absence of... something nagged at him, well he could ignore it.

            Instead, he took a moment to savour the bright spring morning.  The sky was clear and the breeze gentle.  Several birds nested in the trees that lined the footpath outside of the pool enclosure.  Through the wall he could hear happy laughter, splashing and the squeals of young and old.  He paid the entrance fee and then followed as Andrew led him to the changing rooms.  Ten minutes later both men walked out to the Olympic sized pool and stashed their towels near a couple of chairs.

            Suddenly Andrew grinned in a fashion that reminded Darien profoundly of a shark.

            "What...?" Darien asked carefully and Andrew's grin just got broader.

            "Look at the babes over there Dare," he pointed and winked at Darien, "You just gotta love spring!"

            Darien turned to where the blonde pointed and shook his head as he examined what looked to be four curvy college students in bikinis.  "I thought Rita was your one and only. I believe the phrase you used was 'soul-mate'," he mocked.  From the corner of his eye, Darien saw Andrew smile beatifically.  

            "One does not need to pick a flower to enjoy its loveliness," his friend preached virtuously.

            Darien snorted.  "If only Rita knew what a letch you really are," he retorted wryly and Andrew looked at him innocently.

            "I?  You wrong me my friend.  I am filled to the brim with altruism.  For myself, I gain only the slightest of aesthetic pleasures from yonder maidens.  Yet, for the brother of my soul, I must examine them most painstakingly so that I may select appropriate candidates to present before you, my demure yet compelling associate, to provide the companionship which is sorely lacking in your existence!"

            Darien stared at his blonde friend and after a moment said dryly, "I managed to understand the first part, and I think your nose just got longer, but you lost me after 'yonder maidens.'"

            Andrew looked at Darien and smiled evilly.  "Let me translate: I'm gonna get you a girlfriend."

            Darien glared at the other man darkly.  "Get that idea out of your head right now!" he demanded but suspected that he did so in vain.

            Andrew confirmed it when he dodged Darien's grasp and moved just out of reach.  "I know that you want to wait for the right one Bro, but you're not as lucky as me and Rita and so you're going to have to get out there and look for her.   Don't sweat it too much though, I'll help you until you get the hang of it-"

            "Drew," Darien growled, "I don't need or even want a girlfriend."

            Andrew sniffed in very superior fashion that caused Darien to grit his teeth and declared with some asperity, "Wait until after you've actually tried dating and then tell me that Darien."

            "You little spore... WAIT!" sounded in the background only to be ignored by the two men.

            Darien opened his mouth to reply to Andrew's last comment when a pink blur darted between them.  Darien blinked in surprise but then he noticed Andrew's face go from surprised to startled to amused and then he found himself knocked off his feet and onto one of the nearby chairs.

            "Ooomf!"

            "Eek!"

            "What the...?!"

            "Sorry!"

            "Meatball Head!"

            "Don't call me that!"

            "Why shouldn't I?  Get off me you klutz!"

            "You are such a jerk!"

            "Get off me Meatball Head!"

            "As if I want to stay here! You give me hives!"

            "You just give me bruises!"

            "I said sorry, you don't deserve it, but I did say it!"

            "MOVE!"

            Darien ground his teeth as he untangled himself from the scatterbrained girl.  As soon as they were both on their feet he opened his mouth to berate her but she stiffened and dashed off again.  Darien shut his mouth with a snap and watched as she sprinted after a younger girl who was snickering.  The two girls made a loop of the pool while Andrew and Darien watched in silence.  Both of them were careful to step out of their path when the mad pair came past them once more yet Darien was still jolted, this time by the smaller female.  The dark haired man closed his eyes in annoyance and Andrew shrugged.

            "So that's the Meatball Head hmm?  At least you didn't end up in the drink this time Bro."

            SPLASH!  A huge wave of water erupted from the pool and drenched both males.  Darien opened his eyes to feminine laughter both in front and behind him and a masculine sigh at his side.

            "Maybe I spoke too soon," Andrew suggested.

            "Yeah," Darien agreed sourly as he opened his eyes.  Directly in front of him the four college girls were laughing at them and when he turned to see who was behind them he found Bunny giggling while she tread water and held her younger cousin.

            Darien scowled but Andrew forestalled him with a raised palm.  The blonde walked to the edge of the pool and looked out at the two girls.  "What do you think you're up to girls?" he asked mildly.

            Rini and Bunny looked to one another and Darien shook his head at how fast they had united against a common threat.  "Nothing!" they chorused sweetly and Bunny swam to where Andrew stood while she still held Rini.

            When they reached him, Andrew reached down and lifted Rini out of the pool and placed her on the side.  "Can you swim on your own Rini?"

            "Not very well." was the answer and Andrew sighed.

            He turned back to the girl in the pool and inquired calmly, "You do realise that you're at the deep end don't you Bunny?"  The teen nodded her head but didn't look away from the elder blonde.  Andrew raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you have anything to say for yourself Bunny?"

            She bit her lip and looked thoughtful for a moment before she nodded again.  "Uh huh!"

            "What?"

            "Come closer."

            SPLASH!  Several seconds later Andrew resurfaced and sputtered while Bunny kicked away from the edge and lazily drifted away.  "You know how well I swim Andy so you know that she was in no danger," she informed him as if disappointed that he would have so little trust.

            Darien glanced from one to the other, surprised not only by the strange grace that Bunny displayed in the water which was at odds with the impression of incompetence she gave him but also by the familiarity between the two dripping blondes.  It was obvious that they both knew each other and rather well at that.

            "You two know each other?" he asked Andrew curiously and the other man nodded but kept his eyes glued to Bunny.

            "Uh huh, ever since we were kids. Basically, we grew up together, then I came to Tokyo and we've seen each other only rarely ever since."

            "Not rarely enough though, I'll bet," Darien said sympathetically.

            Suddenly Andrew gave him a sunny grin.  "What ever made you think that?" he asked, "Seeing Bunny is the highlight of my year... especially when I get to-"  Abruptly he leapt out of the water towards where the apparently oblivious girl floated peacefully and landed close enough to her that the wave hit her.  Moments later she retaliated and a full fledge water fight began between the pair.

            Darien shook his head in disbelief.  "He's as bad as she is," he muttered to himself before he turned to Rini.  She was dressed in a simple pink swimsuit, her pigtails dripping water from her short dip, and watched Andrew and Bunny dunk each other with an expression of utter disbelief on her face.

            "You didn't think that Andrew could be such a clown did you Rini?" he asked and sat down next to her.  He had introduced her to his best friend the day before when he had taken her to the arcade and Andrew had been his usual cheerful, yet respectable, self.

            She looked at him with wide eyes.  "He was so...  And now he's..."

            "I blame it on the Meatball Head," Darien snorted, "He's acting as if he were five instead of twenty. Normally when he's not working, his maturity level only drops to about seventeen, but your cousin's a bad influence on him."

            "Maybe they just want to enjoy themselves while they don't have to be serious," she offered to him.

            Darien mulled over her suggestion seriously.  He knew that Andrew was a lot more playful than he could afford to be when he worked in the arcade but as far as he knew, Bunny was never serious.  Each time they had met, she had been the same annoying, irritating and objectionable brat that bugged him so much.  So how was he supposed to reconcile that with the knowledge that she had been very capable when she had saved the scouts and him?  True, he had called her names before she had had a chance to speak to him on the two occasions they'd met as themselves.  The first time she might have deserved it, she had been day dreaming but it hadn't been her fault that the wooden railing had been broken and yesterday he had just been surprised that she was the scout's mysterious new ally.  He had not expected to see her again let alone have her as an ally and the meatball head comment had just slipped out.  Maybe he just brought out the worst in her but then why did she act so immaturely when she wasn't arguing with him?  Maybe Rini was right and she was just enjoying her free time.  But she was like that all the time.

            Darien dropped the line of thought. He'd known her for all of four days and as such couldn't judge her... yet.  Instead he slipped into the water and turned to Rini.  "Want to come in Rini?"

            She smiled and accepted his hand.  Moments later her arms were around his neck as she rode on his back.  Both of them ignored the two squabbling blondes in favour of enjoying the water in peace.

***

            _*HA!  Take that Motoki ap Serenity no braud!* ****_

_            *Right back at you Usagi no baka!*_

_            *You're gonna get it Toki!*_

_            *Have to catch me first Usa!*_

            "Annnnddrreeeewww!  No faaiiirrr!"

_            *If that's for Darien's benefit, I don't think he's listening.*  "Come on Bunny, you can do better than that!"_

_            *I know but it let me get close enough to do this!*_

            Splash, splash, SPLASH!

            "BUUUNNY!"  _*USAGI!*_

            "Ha hah..."  _*Gotcha!*_

_            *You are going to pay!*_

            "Ha hah-eep_!"  *Getting vindictive in your old age aren't you fy braud?* ****_

_            *Don't 'brother mine,' me and this is simply justice!*  "OK Bunny, you asked for it, take this!"_

            "Glub_!"  *Alright, I cry mercy!*_

_            *See, I'm not vindictive at all!*  "Up you come Bunny."_

            Gasp!  _*That was a dirty trick-*_

_            *No more so than yours!*  "You OK Bunny?"_

            _*-But it was a cool one, I'll remember it so watch out next time!* Huff.  "Yeah-" Puff.  "Peachy."  Woosh._

            Andrew grinned down at his sister who pretended to be short of breath.  He pulled her with him as he glided to the side of the pool and then gently lifted her onto the side before he jumped up himself.  She flopped back dramatically against the cement and heaved a huge sigh.  

            "Now that was exhausting," she declared.  _*Better watch it Toki, hungry human huntresses at three o'clock!*_

            Andrew casually glanced in the direction she indicated and saw two of the college girls from earlier eying him speculatively.  He found their line of thought blatantly obvious: they were sizing him up as datable material.  Not that he minded that though, after all, they were all very pretty and Rita didn't mind harmless flirting. Of course they had the advantage of being Lunarian.  Neither of them would ever need to feel jealous, their hearts were too firmly in the other's grasp.  Besides he had another reason to make their acquaintance. _*Very tasty sis, what do you think of the one in the red?*_

_            *What?  Oh!  You're trying to set Darien up... why?*_

_            *Because he's lonely Usa, and I hate it when those I care about are lonely.  Now I can't help you but maybe I can help him.*_

            Andrew felt Bunny's attention turn to all of the college girls, not just the ones which were checking him out.  She didn't even open her eyes as she briefly examined their auras and then compared them to Darien's.

            _*The one in the red would drive him crazy after a month,* she eventually decided._

            _*Oh?  I thought she'd be good for him to get accustomed to dating.  She's fun and cheerful, very happy go lucky, graceful and-*_

_            *She'd end up driving the Frog-face nuts.  She'd fall for him within the week and when she starts getting all sentimental, she'll start to irritate him.  Basically she'd be doing unintentionally what I'm doing on purpose, not a good thing if your trying to convince him that dating is interesting.  What about the one in blue?*_

            _*She's so serious though!  But...*_

_            *But put her with someone similar to herself and she tries to set them at ease.  Her sense of humour'd get his attention and she'd be a good introduction to the delicacies of dating.*_

_            *You might be right, I just want to get him comfortable with the first girl not set him up for life.  Introduce him gradually-*  He cut off mid thought as something caught both his and his sister's attention._

            _*What's that?*_

_            *I don't know, it's not good though.*_

            "Meatball Head!" Darien's voice snapped through the twins' distraction.

            Both Andrew and Bunny turned to where Darien had just lifted Rini out of the water and had hauled himself out as fast as he could.  The dark haired man paused for a moment and Andrew, once again, was reminded of his friend's evasive mannerisms when Darien was active as Tuxedo Mask.  After the barely discernible pause he twitched his fingers and a rose appeared and disappeared in a split second; if Andrew had blinked, he would have missed it.  The Lunarian watcher saw his sister's eyes widen as she also caught the brief glimpse of Tuxedo Mask's trademark weapon.  

            "Hey Meatball Head weren't you supposed to meet Mina and her friends this morning?"

            Both Andrew and Bunny comprehended immediately but Andrew did not let on as Bunny nodded.  "Oh Yeah," she exclaimed, "I totally forgot-"

            "Why don't you ring them Bunny, I'm sure there's a phone around here somewhere.  Darien probably knows, why don't you get him to show you?"

            "I'd better, she probably gets lost in her closet, who knows what would happen to her out here," Darien quickly agreed as he stood up.

            "Hey Andy, could you watch Rini for me?" Bunny turned to him with a pleading expression.  _*Keep her out of trouble for me Toki?*_

            "Sure Bunny," he answered both her spoken and unspoken questions, "I'd love to."

            She grinned.  "Great!" she exclaimed before she turned to Rini and knelt down to look her in the eye.  "Sorry Spore, I've gotta go for the moment but I won't be too long.  Promise me that you'll stay with Andy huh?  And that you won't run off again?"

            Rini nodded solemnly.  "I promise."

            "Wicked!" Bunny bounced to her feet, grabbed Darien's arm and began to tug him towards the changing rooms.  "Later!"

            He rolled his eyes and pulled her in the other direction.  "This way Meatball Head!"

            Andrew bit back a laugh at the long-suffering expression on his friend's face and the irritation building in his sister's mind as the mismatched duo rushed off.  They disappeared around a corner and he turned his attention to the child with him.  Her ruby eyes stared off, after Darien and Bunny and she looked almost lost without them.  Andrew debated briefly on whether or not to reassure her, or even to tell her who he was.  After all, his sister had done so and it wasn't like Rini was a human or anything.  Regretfully, he discarded the idea; his mother had commanded that no one was to know of his identity, no matter what the circumstances, and unfortunately that included Rini.  So he couldn't tell her that she was safe with him, he couldn't tell her that Bunny and Darien would be OK.  He wasn't even sure if Darien had told her who he was.

            "Don't worry Rini, they'll be back soon," he said inadequately instead.  She looked at him sceptically and he smiled hopefully.  "Want an ice cream?"

***

Sailor Moon rolled to the ground at the same time as she sent a golden discus spinning through the air.  She cursed herself silently.  She should have taken the time to make herself something to focus the greater of the two battle spells she was limited to.  Without a channel of some sort, if she cast it, the illusion around her would burn away and get her in no end of trouble.  That, of course, meant she was limited to her 'tiara magic' as Rini had dubbed it, which, although useful, wasn't as effective as she could wish.

            She regained her feet at the same time as the thunder from one of Jupiter's attacks resounded through the air.  It was strange that thunder relaxed her but the storms she'd seen on the television the night before had only put her on edge.  Three roses shot past her and connected with a bolt of black lightning.  Moon wove between the droids that reached for her, occasionally striking one in such a way that it fell to the ground, disabled.  Not far from her she watched the source of the dark lightning, a green haired woman with the same black crescent on her forehead as her sisters bore.  There was only one person she could be; Catzi's description had been too detailed to mistake.  She was Prisma and the woman battling Sailor Venus in the distance was the fourth sister, Avery.

            Moon ducked another volley of roses and wondered lightly if Frog-face wasn't using the battle as an opportunity to get rid of her.  The roses did hit their intended target, which hadn't been her, and she grabbed her chance to rush past the last few droids to Prisma's side.  The tall woman turned to face her but by then it was too late.  The Lunarian had already grabbed her wrist and had dived into the woman's mind.  Sailor Moon raced about within the other woman's psyche, hurriedly tracking down and erasing centres of brainwashing.  Distantly she sensed another presence approaching her victim and when the newcomer struck out at her, Moon's free hand darted out and caught the woman's fist.

            The newcomer was none other than Avery and Moon found herself in the difficult situation of trying to heal two different minds simultaneously, in a state that inhibited the majority of her magic and limited the remainder.  She was forced to devote the entirety of her attention to the task at hand and did not notice the blast of energy that threw her away from the two women.  She hit the ground hard, her head impacted with a rock and she lay motionless as her mind reeled in shock.  Distantly the arrival of a new threat registered but she was unable to react, stunned from both the blow and backlash shock of an interrupted spell.

            Her eyes refused to focus and she caught only the briefest impression of darkness approaching her before she was engulfed in blackness.  

***

            Andrew flinched. He had sensed his sister's fall into unconsciousness but it was not that which worried him.  He had absolute trust in Darien and the scouts to keep her safe while she recovered from both concussion and backlash trauma but there were other consequences from the blow to the head that Bunny had received which he would need to deal with.  There were some very fundamental differences between Lunarians and humans that would become quite obvious if he didn't interfere immediately.  Differences such as the colour of their blood

            "Andy?" Rini's voice intruded on his thoughts.

            He looked at her and smiled at ice cream stains on the girl's face.  "Nothing's wrong Kiddo, just thinking 'bout somethin'."  A slight mental stretch allowed him to touch his sister's mind and the kinbond between them allowed him to make the slight alteration necessary in the illusion that hid his sister's nature.  He disengaged from his twin's mind and returned to Rini.  He faked a leer and grabbed the pink haired child.  Rini squealed as Andrew jumped with her into the pool.

            "ANDREW!" she protested when he pulled them back to the surface.

            "What?" he asked her innocently.

            Still held firmly in his arms, she scowled at him.  "Why'd you do that?" she whined.

            "You had ice cream everywhere. I thought it was the easiest way for you to get clean."

            She pouted, then smiled slyly and splashed him.

            "What?!" he spluttered in amusement.

            "Gotcha!  Now we're even!"

            He pursed his lips in consideration and then grinned.  "Not for long," he warned.

***

            In her confused state, she almost mistook the darkness for death but the warmth that surrounded her was at direct odds with the impression of coldness that death had always given her in the past.  She luxuriated in the warmth and savoured the aura of absolute safety and contentment that she couldn't help but feel.  The sensation was one that she had not known in centuries and so it was only with the greatest reluctance that she responded to the emotions of those around her.  Concern and irritation in an even ratio invaded her mind and she opened her eyes to meet Tux's staring at her.  As soon as he noticed that she had awakened the concern vanished and only his irritation remained.

            "Gods, Meatball Head, it's not safe to let you out on your own.  A two year old has a better sense of self preservation than you do," he snapped harshly.

            She frowned at him and realised that he was still holding her.  She tried to pull away but he refused to release her.  "Let me go," she grunted and then stilled as she felt the trickle of blood on her temple.  A quick check revealed that her illusion had been modified and she detected her brother's touch in the spell.  

            "Easy Moon," she heard Venus murmur, "Mercury says that you've got a nasty bump on the head as well as backlash shock-"

            "If you hadn't been so careless you wouldn't-"

            Jupiter glared at him, "Can it, Capeboy.  Can't you see that she hasn't gotten over it yet?"

            "No, I'm fine Jupiter," Moon insisted weakly and pushed away from the tuxedo-clad hero again.  He allowed her to try and stand but when her legs almost gave out on her again he swept her back into his arms.

            "Give it up Meatball Head," he grunted, "You're hopeless at the best of times; right now you have no chance of staying on your feet."

            She scowled at him once to tell him that he couldn't just get away with insulting her but rested her head against his shoulder instead of retorting.  She saw the other scouts look at her in concern and she smiled slightly as she reached to touch her temple.

            "Don't worry," she told them, "Give me a moment and I'll be as good as new."

            Venus nodded, her doubts assuaged by the faint silver light that radiated from Moon's fingers.  "Fair enough.  By the way, scout meeting at the temple at one.  We need to start acting and stop reacting."

            Tux's lips twisted.  "I'll make sure she gets there. We need to collect Rini first."

            "Rini?" the blonde scout asked, "What do you have to do with Rini?"

            "Nothing, we've just run into each other a couple of times.  At the moment Andrew's watching her.  I'd better get Moon back before we're missed."   Without another word he leapt into the air and carried Sailor Moon back to the pool. 

            "I was so close," she whispered as she healed her concussion and the wind blew her long ponytails out behind them, "If I'd only had a couple of minutes longer, Prisma and Avery would have been freed."

            "That's what you were doing?" Tuxedo Mask exclaimed.  He screeched to a halt on the rooftop of a building two blocks from the pool.  "You really are crazy, taking such a risk during a battle is unacceptable."

            She frowned.  "I had to," she growled.

            "Had to?  Had to-"

            "Yes!" she screeched at him and squirmed away from him.  This time her legs held and she darted away from him angrily.  Why couldn't he give her the benefit of the doubt?  Why couldn't he just trust her to know what she was doing?  Why did it bug her so much that he kept dismissing her?

***

            Tuxedo Mask finally caught up with her when she jumped down into the alley behind the pool.  He followed after her and grabbed her arm just as she released the spell that made her Sailor Moon.  The rush of power that coursed through his gloved fingertips, combined with the shocking, split-second sight of an angel, caused him to lose hold of his own transformation.  Moments later it was as Darien that he faced Bunny.  Her liquid sapphire eyes flicked to where his hand easily circled her wrist before they caught his own.  Something in those blue orbs made him let her go when she deliberately pulled away from him.  She continued to stare at him and he felt himself start to get defensive for no apparent reason.

            He opened his mouth to speak but was forestalled when she raised her abused hand.  "No, Darien, not another word.  If you don't understand that I cannot hurt when I have the opportunity to heal then I can't explain it to you.  Instead, let me say this; it doesn't matter whether or not you think I'm of any use to you and the scouts, it doesn't matter if today makes you think that I'm useless, because, you see, I had no more choice than if I saw a child on a road.  What I did was right, whether or not you think so. I had to try and heal them."

            Darien considered his reply for a moment before he responded, "That may be so but you must realise that you were in the middle of a battle.  When you lost your concentration like that you could have gotten yourself killed. In fact, you almost did."  He paused and took a deep breath before he continued, "And you're wrong when you say that I don't understand, I do.  The sisters are victims and they deserve more than a summary death but there are better times and situations in which you could help them.  Next time wait until you can spare the concentration for the task."  He held her eyes and willed her to keep eye contact.

            "Come on," she softly said and Darien understood her unspoken submission, "Andy and Rini must be wondering where we went off to." 

            Darien nodded and let her walk away from him to the fence.  She crouched down as if she were about to jump the fence and he sighed.  Before she could try, he gripped her about the waist and lifted her to the top.  She pulled herself up and looked at him in surprise.  He looked at her sourly and let her think that he'd helped because he thought she'd klutz out.  He did but that wasn't why he'd helped.  The protective urges she had aroused in him earlier hadn't died away yet and he couldn't risk her hurting herself.  Of course he'd never let her know that... nor would he ever let her - or Andrew - know just how nice it felt to hold her as he had.  And, strangely, how familiar.  The strange thing was that she didn't scowl at him or show any other sign of displeasure at the autocratic way he'd manhandled her, instead she just stared at him thoughtfully.

            That stare unnerved him, could she have sensed the train of his thoughts?  The idea that she knew she inspired a fierce protectiveness in him was not a pleasant one.  He did not want the ditz to have a hold on him.  Then again, what was he worried about?  She was a ditz.  Her head was so far in the clouds that she wouldn't notice the pole in front of her until the bruise had turned green.  Darien was startled out of his uncharitable thoughts when the object of them jumped down from the fence and walked away without looking at him.  

            The bewildered man gazed after her and he rubbed his neck in an effort to dispel his unease.  His hand slipped over something wet and he looked down to find a smear of something silver.  He held his hand up in front of his face and stared at the strange substance on his fingers in confusion.  It smelled almost like vanilla but with a hint of something floral and exotic. In fact, it was very similar to what Bunny's personal scent was.  Caught between wondering what the substance was and why he had noticed what the ditzy teen smelt like, Darien dismissed the entire subject.  Resolutely he turned his mind to other matters, easily leapt to the top of the fence and swung himself over.

            "Hey, Dare!  Over here!"  Andrew's voice rang out and Darien trotted over to where his blonde friend stood with Rini and Bunny.  Bunny was studiously avoiding his eyes and Darien couldn't help but frown at the tiny blonde.  "You found the phones right Dare?"  Andrew's question broke Darien out of his thoughts.

            "Huh?" he grunted, "Oh, yeah.  Fine."

            Bunny reached for Rini's hand.  "Gotta book it, c'mon Spore."

            "Are you sure Bunny?" Andrew asked.

            She turned and shrugged.  "Yeah sorry Andy, something came up."

            "Oh... well I'll see you later..."

            She grinned at him.  "I'll probably drop by the arcade later."  She rolled her eyes towards Rini and added, "Someone decided to 'fix' Sammy's Sailor V game... permanently and so now I gotta go out to get my daily fix."

            "It wasn't my fault-" Rini protested.

            Bunny led her away.  "Oh sure, and I bet it was the Easter Bunny who told Luna P to make it bypass the food level and go straight to the space level!"  

            The two men watched the girls as they went into the changing rooms.  Darien started to turn away when Bunny stuck her head back out.  "Remember, Andy, the one in blue!" and with those words of wisdom she disappeared.

            "One in blue?" Darien asked his friend.

            Andrew merely shook his head and lead Darien back to their towels.  Only one of the college girls was still there and she waved and laughed as Andrew walked past.  The blonde man stopped and gave Darien a wide smile before turning back to the girl in the navy bikini. "Hey Darien, let me introduce you to Betty..."

***

            "I think Rini should know who all of us are so she can come to us if necessary," Mina told the four girls scattered on the floor of the contemplation room in Raye's temple.

            Bunny nodded from her cushion.  "I was going to suggest it if you didn't," she informed her new friends. "Darien's introduced himself but it'd be smart if she knew that she could trust all of you."

            "Does she know that you're Sailor Moon?" Lita asked.

            "Yeah," Bunny ate another biscuit and added, "I live with her anyway, it's easier if she knows.  I don't have to explain some of the weird things that happen around me this way."

            "Weird things?" Amy inquired with a curious expression, "What kind of weird things?"

            "Oh... strange dreams, silver lights and stuff like that," Bunny answered casually and hid a smile.

            "Is that all?" a jeering voice scoffed. "I guess being a super-klutz isn't a part of being a super hero-"

            "Nor is being a super-jerk." Bunny retorted and stuck her tongue out at Darien.  

            He smirked as he came through the door and took up a place by the window.  Bunny guessed this was his accustomed place at meetings, he seemed to fit there.  Chiba Mamoru, Earth protector.  It was almost as if he were one of the Earth's wild children, a hawk or a wolf, ready to break free at any moment.  There was much to admire about him, his people skills not withstanding, if only she could get him to loosen up a little.  Of course it was hard to dislike someone who could be so protective and caring towards her.

            "That's enough you two," Raye cut in before Darien could respond, "We're here on business.  You two can squabble on your own time.  Now Bunny, you said that Rini was safe at the moment?"

            Bunny nodded.  "Yeah, she's with my parents.  I told them I'd seen a weird guy hanging around so they won't let her out on her own."

            "Good thinking Bunny," Mina told her and Bunny noticed Darien glance at her in surprise.  "OK," Mina went on, "We need to consider what we're going to do about the Darkmoon Family."

            "Rubeus almost had us this morning," Lita interjected, "If Avery and Prisma hadn't lost it, we'd be history.  Pity we can't count on it happening next time."

            "Actually," Darien drawled, "If you want to risk the Meatball Head's life, then we can do that to them every time they attack us until she gets the chance to finish the job."

            "What?"

            "I don't-"

            "Bunny-"

            "You tried to heal them didn't you?" Amy's voice silenced the other scouts.

            Bunny sighed and nodded.  "Don't worry, Frog-face has already lectured me on the hazards of spacing out in battle.  I'll leave it until after next time... either that or I'll arrange for someone to watch my back while I do it."  

            Silently she cursed the limitations imposed on her by the effort of maintaining the illusion of humanity.  She was not used to not being able to access the greater portion of her power but the more power she let free, the stronger her illusion needed to be and the less power she had remaining.  It was a paradox that was best solved by crafting a strong illusion and caging the magic that it could not conceal but the downside was that she kept forgetting that her capabilities were less than what she was used to.  After centuries as Selene's Guardian she could operate effectively even when completely without magic... if only she remembered.

            "He's right-" Raye started and Bunny sighed.

            "I know, I know," she muttered, "Let it rest, I've learned my lesson."

            "Fair enough," Mina allowed, "Alright, what do we know about the Darkmoon Family?  A summary if you please Amy."

            The Mercurian reincarnate nodded and conjured her tactical minicomputer.  "We know that there are three commanders who serve a prince and that the sisters serve the commander called Rubius.  At the moment only the sisters and Rubius are of concern to us so we'll concentrate on them."  She tapped a key and a hologram appeared above her computer.  

            Bunny's respect for the Mercurian rose; it was quite advanced and Amy had done well to reconstruct so much of the old technology.  She showed none of her true emotions; instead she affected giddy excitement that died under Darien's sneer.  She knew that the man was more perceptive than that, why wouldn't he admit that he knew better?  The more she got to know him the more she wanted to really talk to him, rather than just quarrel, and she couldn't do that until he stopped treating her like an idiot.  Bunny sighed aloud and dismissed the problem in favour of the hologram.

            "Catzi and Bertie told us that Rubius' base is in a flying saucer which is in geo-synchronous orbit above Tokyo.  I have pinpointed its exact location and, between what the sisters have told us and the results of my scans, I have managed to create a fairly accurate set of blue prints.  The saucer is three kilometres in diameter and half a kilometre high with major offensive and defensive capabilities.  It's powered by something Bertie called a dark crystal.  From what I've been able to discover, it's a very powerful matter-antimatter generator with a unique and sophisticated crystal matrix."  The image changed to one of a crystal cluster that began to rotate.  Several spots in the hologram were hazy where Amy hadn't gathered enough information for an accurate representation.   

            "I'm not entirely sure," Amy went on, "But there is evidence to suggest that the crystal configuration is unstable which is something we have to remember if we want to do anything to the craft.  The size of the vessel means that we cannot risk knocking it out of orbit and onto the Earth and any mishaps with the weapons systems will also affect all of Tokyo as well as the majority of Japan."

            "Exactly what are you getting at?" Darien questioned, intently.

            Mina looked at him beseechingly.  "I think we should go after Rubius' saucer."

            There was silence.  Of those present, only Amy and Mina had been party to the initial planning but Bunny thought it that it had been rather obvious and she was slightly surprised that the others hadn't come to the same conclusion.  What other target had they been offered?  If the scouts wanted to go on the offensive then there was only Rubius' space ship.  Of course there were a lot of problems involved: transport, firepower, defence systems... not to mention, the actual goal of such an attack. 

            "Um," Bunny wondered exactly how she should put this.  Oh well, may as well just say it, "Why?"

            "Why?" They all looked at her as if she was stupid and she shrugged defensively.

            "Well how we go about it depends on what you hope to gain, right?"  She looked at them uncertainly.  None of them were inexperienced so surely they all saw what she was getting at but apparently none of them did.  Instead they all stared at her as if she were speaking another language.  In the end it required to Darien to get through to them.

            "Meatball Head's right.  Our approach will depend on our objective-"

            "We want to take the craft over," Mina shrugged dismissively and continued, "What else?"

            Bunny sat back and let the argument begin.

            "I thought a reconnaissance mission would be wise," Amy objected, "We simply do not know enough nor do we have the firepower for an all out assault."

            "I'd like to catch Rubius," Lita interrupted, "The other two sisters as well but mostly Rubius.  He could probably tell us heaps more than either Catzi or Bertie were able to."

            Raye shook her head.  "No, I want us to take out the dark crystal.  I have some very strong forebodings concerning it.  Something very bad is going to happen soon and it will be involved."

            "We don't know enough about it Raye," Mina contradicted, "We could do more harm than good if we interfere with it in ignorance.  Amy told you of the risk of a disaster if the ship or weapons-"

            Bunny paid only a little attention to the debate.  Instead of involving herself she sent a part of her mind out to investigate the ship personally while another part listed possible goals from an attack.  First was simple information gathering.  For that they'd have to arrive and leave undetected to avoid alerting the enemy and possibly compromising the data they collected.  The computers they would need to access were in the heavily shielded bridge.  On the other hand, capture of Rubius and the sisters would mean separating to simultaneously invade two sets of living quarters that were located on opposite sides of the ship.

            Then there was the dark crystal.  Even the briefest of examinations of the energy patterns surrounding the crystal showed that Raye's worries were well founded.  A massive number of energy currents were being rerouted to the weapons systems.  A quick check of the primary weapons that were being augmented told her that their power was soon going to be far too great to chance being used against Tokyo.  The magnification of the weapons also demonstrated that things were going to get a lot harder in the very near future.

            "We've only got one chance," she murmured absently.

            Darien looked at her sharply.  "What?!"

            Bunny looked up, her psychic probe snapped back and it was a couple of moments before she could focus again.  "Hmm?"  Darien glared at her impatiently and Bunny shook her head in an attempt to dislodge the beginnings of backlash shock.  "Oh, they weren't prepared for us," she muttered, still slightly dazed."

            Darien frowned.  "Meatball Head, try talking sense."

            Bunny paused and took a deep breath before she carefully explained.  "The Darkmoon Family weren't prepared for us when they got here.  Now that they know that we're here, they're not going to be such pushovers from here on in.  In fact, I bet the odds are against us now.  We're only going to get one chance at this.  Darien I know that you think I'm an idiot but..."

            "But what?"  Without even looking at him she knew that he was re-evaluating her and for once his voice wasn't mocking.

            "I think Mina's right."  Bunny looked Darien in the eyes and tried to convey the importance of the decision for, in the end, it was he who would decide.  "I think we should try and go for the whole thing."

***

_He looked around in awe.  The massive bulk of Jupiter dominated much of the sky, the thin rings glittered in the distant light of the sun and the silhouettes of three Jovian moons hanging just over the horizon._

_            "Wow," he whispered._

_            A slender shape pressed itself closer to him and he looked down at his side to see a silver blonde head tucked close against his chest.  It felt perfectly natural to put his arm around her shoulders and even better when her arm circled his waist.  For a moment he was distracted by the sensation of her mouth on his nipple but before his mind completely melted she pulled away slightly and pointed at the sky with her free hand.  He looked where she pointed and saw a distant point of blue-green light._

_            "Is that...?" he asked slowly._

_            She nodded and cuddled against him again.  A part of him relished the feel of her breasts pressed against his ribs but most of his mind was focused on the far off star.  "Earth..." he breathed._

_            "Earth," she repeated, "A world where good and evil, honour and shame, violence and compassion all coexist.  Earth, the last life bearing world in this sector of space."_

_            "Last?"_

_            "Aeons ago, civilisation Fell and only one world survived the Fall with life.  It was a world where life flourished and so, in time, civilisation once more arose."_

_            "Why are life and civilisation so important to you?"_

_            She shrugged and nipped at him again, which sent ripples of pleasure across his chest, before she replied, "Everything else is just part of a circle, necessary for development, but without life there is no change and civilisation is the record of lessons learned and forgotten."_

_            "That doesn't really seem right," he paused and tried to explain, "That would imply that humans are more important than creatures like... say, worms.  I can't believe that-"_

_            She chuckled and the sound lightened his soul.  "You are a true prince of Earth. You know that each creature is as important as the next, that without one, all suffer.  Yet even you do not understand that even a lowly worm has a civilisation of a sort.  The important thing is not what kind of buildings or monuments a race erects nor the size of the area it makes use of.  The important thing is that the race or species has the chance to choose their own path.  Whether it's between good and evil, honour and shame or obscurity and notoriety, it makes no difference, the opportunity to choose must be there.  So maybe the important thing is free will."_

_            "But some civilisations remove free will from the equation," he had no choice but to add._

_            "There is always a choice even if it is only between slavery or death but feel free to argue the point."_

_            He looked down to find beautiful sapphire eyes staring back at him and he decided to leave the debate for later.  Very deliberately he reached down and cupped one of her breasts.  "I have better things to do," he whispered and leaned forward-_

***

            Darien bolted upright, his dream shattered around him, and groped on the bedside cabinet for his alarm clock.  In what seemed an eternity later he found the necessary switch and silenced the aggravating sounds.  He rubbed at his eyes and looked out of the bedroom window.  The sun hadn't topped the horizon but the bright lining showed that dawn wasn't far off and he'd better get up. It was going to be a busy day.


	6. Chapter five

The Law Keeper - Chapter five

First in the Book of the Renewal

By Draegyn

Dragynne2000@yahoo.com.au

Moon sighed, tugged at the short, dark blue skirt of her scout costume and wondered if her human companions had any concept of their own mortality.  She understood the urgency of the situation, she was the one who had emphasised it after all, but surely hijacking a flying saucer required more than seven hours planning.  Of course, if anything happened she could get both herself and the reincarnates away safely but something inside of her rebelled against a course of action which would involve little more than the indiscriminate use of her unchained magic.  A sense of professional pride insisted that she accomplish this mission with no more than the tools provided.  In other words, she didn't want to cheat.

She sighed again and tried to discipline her mind.  It was a pity that there were no soul bonds between any of the scouts so they could combine their powers but they all possessed respectable abilities and Darien was almost a beta level warrior.  Between them they had managed to defeat both Metallia and her pawn, Beryl.  Surely they could take on Rubius and the remaining sisters.  From what she had been told, Rubius could be no more than a mediocre beta that, although strong, shouldn't be too difficult an obstacle for Darien.  And if all else failed, she still had the two battle spells that, between them, accounted for both subtlety and brute strength.

As soon as memory of the stronger of the two spells surfaced, Moon felt like kicking herself.  She still hadn't made herself a focus to stop the spell from burning her illusion away.  

"Sailor Moon?" Mercury's soft voice interrupted her self-recriminations.

"What's up Blue?" she asked, still running various options through her mind.

The young-old teen held out a slender object and said softly, "I thought this might be useful to you."  It was a rich red wand about half a metre long, trimmed with gold and which resembled a royal sceptre more than anything else.

Moon grinned in sudden relief.  "You must be psychic Mercury," she exclaimed, "I was just thinking about my need for a focus."

Her friend smiled shyly.  "I knew you didn't have anything when you first showed up and I wasn't sure if you'd had time to find something so I whipped that up."

"It's great, thank you," the Lunarian assured her sincerely.

Mercury smiled again and then blinked as if something had just struck her.  "Oh and it can be used as a physical weapon as well as a magical one," she advised, "You lengthen it so that it can be used as a staff."

The blonde found the hidden switch and twirled the now two metre long staff easily.  "Wicked!" she laughed.  Moon was touched that the scout had gone to so much trouble; it wasn't something she had expected from a human of such short acquaintance.  It suggested to her that maybe the end of the interdiction wasn't as far off as she'd feared.  "Thank you," Moon repeated and wished she could properly show her gratitude.

Mercury shrugged it off.  "It was no problem," the brunette protested, "And this way you won't have to keep borrowing Darien's cane."  There was a warning light in her blue eyes and Moon decided to put her at ease.

"Don't worry," she grinned, "I'm on my best behaviour today.  No stirring the Frog-face until this is all over OK?"

"Thank you."

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Tux's voice broke up the soft chatter and drew everyone's attention to him.  

The six warriors were gathered in the still deserted park.    The morning traffic was only just beginning to pick up and most of the distant shops were still closed.  Mercury walked away from Moon and kneeled near a small device she'd arranged when she'd first arrived.  She made a few last minute adjustments and then nodded to Tux.

"Everyone knows what to do?" he asked and the scouts nodded in confirmation.  "Right, Moon and I first, followed by Venus and Jupiter with Mars and Mercury bringing up the rear.  Good luck."

Moon retracted the staff and moved to stand next to the masked man.  Neither of them were exactly pleased with being paired together but the others had long since formed natural partnerships which left them no other choice.  The only real objection that Moon could think of was that it might make more sense to set the two most powerful members of the mission to separate tasks but if she had brought that up then she would have to explain exactly why she rated herself as more powerful than the other scouts.  So she shut up and accepted the arrangements.

"Remember you two," Venus warned, "Don't get sidetracked."

Moon caught Tux as he glanced at her and read his expression easily.  It told her in no uncertain terms that he was perfectly confident of his own professionalism yet hers was uncertain.  She sighed again and restrained a groan of frustration.  After this was over she was going to have to find a way to rub his nose in her 'meatball headedness'.

Mercury tapped a button and an energy field sprang up around the pair of them and the park disappeared.  Seconds later the two of them materialised in a long, dismal corridor which extended several hundred metres in either direction.  Moon shook her head in admiration, the girl really did know her stuff, and then got down to business.  She recalled an image of the corridor plan at the same time as she lightly sifted through the faint energy patterns.  Seconds later she had her bearings and looked at Tux.

"This way," she told him and pointed.

He ignored her for a moment while he confirmed it in his own way and then started off without another word.  Moon took a deep breath before she followed.  This partnership was not going to work, she could tell that already.  Suddenly she stopped rigid and frantically looked around.  The local energy fields resonated with the presence of several others yet she and her reluctant partner were alone in the corridor.

"Ummm," she started reluctantly as she didn't want to alarm Tuxedo Mask unnecessarily but the vibrations were growing as the enemies' proximity grew.

"What?"  He didn't even turn to face her and she was slightly comforted to realise that he was uneasy as well.

She put her hand on his shoulder to stop him and drew closer, brushing a faint sense of familiarity aside as she did so.  "I know it looks like we're alone but there's a lot of something else in here with us."

His head turned to her slightly.  "I can feel them too."

"They're coming closer."

"How can you tell?" he whispered.

"As a healer I use energy patterns in a person or animal's body to track illness.  There are similar fields all around us and everything in them, especially living beings, affects them.  There's only a small difference between reading a person's patterns and reading an area's."  For a moment she wondered how her answer would affect his assessment of her but she shrugged it aside and turned to the problem of their invisible foe.

"Can you fight them using these energy fields?" he asked softly and she could literally see the hairs on the back of his neck rising.

She considered for a moment.  "Only if you want to alert everyone to the fact that we're here.  They're droids, I think, they don't actually have a field of their own and using the surrounding fields is inexact at best.  I'll probably miss more than I hit."

"I don't think we need to be too concerned about secrecy since they're here," he reminded her dryly, "But if we hurry, we might still be able to catch Rubius unawares."

Rubius was their particular target in this endeavour.  He undoubtedly knew that they were there now.  Even if he hadn't detected Mercury's matter transmission, the invisible security droids would have alerted him to the intruders.  Still, it would take him a short time to assimilate everything and, if they were lucky, the other teams would engender more confusion that would slow his reactions down further.

"Get ready to run," she advised her partner, "I gonna try out Mercury's gift and it's definitely going to set off a lot of alarms."  Without saying another word she raised the sceptre that the Mercurian reincarnate had crafted for her and used it to shape a flood of power.  White light spilled from the sceptre and even before it had properly faded Tuxedo Mask began to drag her down the hall at a dead run.  Klaxons began to go off and she looked over her shoulder to see a dozen small piles of dust materialise out of nowhere.  "Well it worked," she said brightly and started to run on her own initiative.

"Not exactly inconspicuous though Meatball Head," he retorted breathlessly.

She snorted.  "I did warn you and don't call me Meatball Head!"

"Now, now, don't be so touchy."

"Touchy?!" The door at the end of the hallway opened to reveal two strange droids and closed when they'd entered the hallway.  "Look who's talking, a slight mishap on a bridge and you go berserk."

The droids whirled toward the pair but neither of them paid too much heed, too embroiled in their argument.  Their distraction made little difference; both of them assessed their new opponents unconsciously and acted in harmony even as they bickered with each other.

"Why shouldn't I have gone berserk?" Tux snapped as he ducked a whip-like projection of the first droid and shot three roses into the second without stumbling.  "The water smelled like fish and I don't want to think of what I washed out of my hair that afternoon."

"Poor baby," she snickered and sliced off the whip-like projection with a thrown discus of light even as he ducked under it.  "You had to go to all that effort of washing your hair again... and you just did it the night before.  You've got better things to do with your spare time than do that again."  She threw another discus.  It missed and flew past the second droid.

"I'll have you know that I do have better things to do-"  A rose distracted the droid as the discus boomeranged back and a ball of crimson energy finished the damaged enemy. 

She triggered the switch on her sceptre and used its sudden growth to vault over the remaining droid.  "Yeah, yeah," she scoffed, spun low and used her staff to knock the droid off balance.  "Things like dusting, organising your sock drawer.  You know, important stuff right?"

He was conspicuously silent as he impaled the falling droid on his cane and supercharged it with energy.  It dissolved into ashes and she stood and gaped at him incredulously.

"You're kidding me," she sputtered, "That's really what you do with your spare time?"

He ignored her and blasted the door out his way angrily.

Moon shook her head in pity.  "Man, Andy's right, you really do need a girlfriend."

"What?!" He jerked to a halt in the doorway and half turned to yell at her when she ran into him and knocked them both through the entrance.

A sudden weight prevented them from regaining their balance and they sprawled out on the floor.  It felt as if she had the entire Silver Keep resting on her back and she shuddered to think of how Tux must feel.  They must have had at least five of Earth's gravities pressing down on them but she at least had the advantage of living under Jupiter's two and a half gravities for the last several years.  Painstakingly, she drew herself to her knees and saw Tux doing the same beside her.  His expression showed that it was as much from bravado as true strength. His pride would not allow him to be weaker than she.

"Well, well, well," a malicious voice sneered, "What do we have here?"  

She looked up to find a man standing in the centre of the large chamber, next to a single control consul.  His wild hair was fairly short and a fiery red, his face pale, his eyes brown and an inverted black crescent stood out on his forehead.  She hadn't seen him before but there was only one person he could be: Rubius.  He pressed something on the consul and the force around her doubled.  She gasped but refused to submit and next to her Tuxedo Mask did the same.  The gravity increased again and neither warrior could prevent themselves from sprawling out on top of each other once more.  

She heard footsteps and managed to turn her head enough to see his boots stop less than a metre distance from her.  That meant the gravitation field was confined to an area either directly in front of the door or on the perimeter of the room; either way, it meant that she didn't have that far to go to get out of it.  He laughed and she restrained an urge to lash out at him.  From her own reaction she suspected that the man in front of her was an entirely different kettle of fish from the sisters and not because of the power he possessed.

"I do believe it is the sleeping beauty from yesterday's battle-"  

A sudden fierce protectiveness welled up within her and Moon realised that Tuxedo Mask unwittingly projected his emotions through the contact of her body on his and she couldn't move to break the connection.

"And you must be her Prince Charming, eh?" the red head finished and Moon gasped at the almost tangible wave of animosity that ran through her from Tux.  

Her mind couldn't deal with the emotion, it was too fierce and she rolled herself off him in a desperate bid to break the link.  Her movement triggered an increase in the intensity and it suddenly felt as if her mind were under attack by waves of pure hatred.  She knew she'd shocked Rubius with her ability to move but her mind was too involved with the attempt to create a protective shield from the ferocity that still battered at her psyche.  In the distance she felt her brother and her mother reach for her in concern but even they could not break through the waves of rage generated by the human.  To do this, he had to be much more than a potential beta level but the pain of the psychic onslaught obscured the ramifications of this.

"DARIEN!" she shrieked, "STOP!"

Her distress got through to him and his anger ebbed in shock but then the gravity doubled again and then again.  Through the channel that still existed between them she felt him start to die and her own heart began to labour under the pressure.  She knew the link went both ways when his anger began to grow once more in response to her distress.  The pressure in her head built up again and the pain in her body dwindled in comparison.  She rose to her knees and both pressure and rage increased.  She staggered to her feet, the pain just too great and then everything climaxed.  She screamed.

***

Tuxedo Mask, or rather, Darien staggered to his feet.  At some point while he'd been unconscious, his disguise had faded and he couldn't work up the will power to change back.  In fact, in the wake of what happened, he no longer gave a damn if someone discovered his real identity.  His eyes had a difficult time focusing and so it was several seconds before he saw Bunny's limp form near the charred stump that was all that remained of the control consul.  He lurched over to her and fell to his knees next to her and frantically searched for her pulse.  He was more relieved than he cared to admit when he found it but he couldn't even begin to measure the relief when she began to stir in response to his touch a minute later.

"What happened?" she whispered hoarsely, even before she opened her eyes, and he knew with a mysterious certainty that she didn't need to look at him to identify him, she would never mistake his touch for another's.

He tried to gather his scattered thoughts as he helped her to sit up.  He found that all he had was a vague recollection of fear and pain and the fear had been for her.  "I don't know," he answered after a moment, "I don't really remember...  Rubius trapped us and then...  I don't know."

She blinked repeatedly as if trying to regain some control over scattered senses.  "Our transformations-"

"Undone while we were out of it," he told her and helped her to her feet.  Each supporting the other, they'd gone barely a step when they stumbled again.  Darien stayed upright by will alone and Bunny did so only because of his aid.  He looked down to find what they'd tripped on and discovered the pitiful remains of a corpse.

"Rubius," she breathed and Darien felt what little remained of her strength drain out of her.

"Steady," he murmured and shifted her in his arms.

"What happened?  What could I possibly have done to him?"  Her voice was agonised and he remembered her words of the day before, 'I cannot hurt when I have the opportunity to heal'.

"Don't blame yourself," he told her, "It could have just as easily have been me who did it."  Neither of them really believed that and she shook her head, still shocked.  He glared at her fiercely.  "Listen to me, you can't tear yourself apart because of this. Whether it was you or me, he was going to kill us and of the two possible outcomes, I prefer this one."

She shook herself and laughed harshly.  "I don't even know why I'm so upset.  I know he was evil, I could feel it and I know that I wouldn't have been able to make him good but...  Catzi loved him you know.  Not like stars and comets kind of love... but... he was her first love..."

He tipped her chin up and made her meet his eyes.  A crooked smile lurked on his lips as he said, "Much as it galls me to admit this, Meatball Head, you're a good person."  She turned in his hold, threw her arms around him and for the next couple of minutes hugged each other in silence.

"You know we'd really freak the scouts out if they saw us like this," he murmured softly.  She choked on a laugh and as she backed away, he saw the tears on her face.

"Don't worry," she told him, "As soon as this is over we'll be back to normal. We're only getting along because we promised the scouts."

He examined the girl before him. Her eyes were still sad but she'd rebounded from the horror better than he'd expected or even hoped.  "You're right. I don't think I could be continuously polite to a ditz."  Not that he could simply dismiss her so anymore and from her smile, she knew it.

She mock glared at him as she began to walk to the exit on the opposite side of the chamber.  "This from someone who organises his sock drawer by colour, weave and date of purchase!"

She couldn't possibly know that-

"You don't... you do?!" she turned back and blurted incredulously.

Darien felt his cheeks heat and cursed his slow wits.  She began to giggle.  A frantic beeping interrupted his growl.  They looked at each other blankly for a second and then memory surfaced and Darien felt like kicking himself again.  He dug a small device that resembled a pager out of his pocket.   The tiny screen on the little gadget came to life at the touch of a button and he found himself looking at Venus' anxious face.  Before either of them could even open their mouths to speak, the screen split in half and the image of Mercury's face appeared besides Venus'.

"Tux-  Darien?!" Venus blurted in shock once his appearance registered.

Darien sighed.  "Long story, don't ask.  Everything go off OK?  Anyone hurt?"

Mercury nodded.  "Everyone's well-"

"We've got Prisma and Avery ready for Moon-" Venus added cheerfully.

Mercury interrupted fearfully, "We have problems, I've been trying to contact you for the last half an hour-"

Darien glanced to Bunny for an instant and then back at his communicator.  "We had a slight problem.  It's been dealt with.  What happened?"

"There was a massive energy surge a half an hour ago and it's de-stabilized the dark crystal. I have a patch of a sort on it but to do so I had to shut down a lot of the essential systems, like life support.  We cannot even consider trying to use it to generate full power but without a lot more energy, and soon, the entire ship is going to start re-entry."

Both Darien and Bunny looked to Rubius' pathetic corpse and then to each other.  Whatever they'd done, it was obviously the cause of their current problems.

"We're not going to be able to keep the ship," Bunny said, unnecessarily.

Darien nodded.  "Venus, you and Jupiter have got to get the sisters out of here first and foremost."

"The Hall of Mirrors," Bunny suggested and Darien looked at her in confusion.  She moved next to him and peered into the communicator.  "Remember that there's got to be a room where they can both spy on and get to Tokyo?  Well, Catzi and Bertie said that near the sisters' quarters should be a large chamber with about six mirrors arranged in a smallish circle in the centre of the chamber.  The mirrors are actually a combination of scrying device and teleporter.  If you're lucky, one should still be active, if there isn't one you'd better get one of the sisters' to turn one on for you.  They'll probably do it once they realise that their own lives are at risk as well as ours."

The blonde scout nodded, signed off and Mercury's image grew to cover the entire screen.  "What are we going to do?" she questioned quickly, "We cannot allow the craft to self destruct. Unlike a meteor it wouldn't break up upon entry into Earth's atmosphere and the meteor which killed off the dinosaurs was smaller than this ship."

"Actually Mercury, self-destruction sounds good," Darien muttered and his mind raced to consider all of the options.

"But-"

"Surely this thing has to have some kind of automatic self destruction mechanism.  If we can activate it, we'd blow the ship into lots of small bits that would burn up in the atmosphere.  We'd get a lovely fireworks show but no damage."

"Um, that might not be possible," Bunny said hesitantly and pointed at the destroyed consul.  "I think the controls you'd need were on that."

"Damn!" he swore.

She shrugged. "Still, what we want is just a big bang right?  Isn't that what you get when you add matter and antimatter without safeguards?"

Darien looked to Mercury hopefully.  "Could you rig the dark crystal to explode and take the entire ship with it?"

Mercury smiled wryly.  "It's almost at that point anyway, the question is how much time I can give us to escape."

"Let us know as soon as you've figured it out," Darien ordered and then switched the communicator off.

Of all of their goals, they had achieved only the capture of the remaining sisters.  Rubius was dead, the dark crystal was about to destroy itself and the ship with it.  That meant that they'd accomplished only one of their three objectives "One in three," he spat and kicked at the destroyed consul.  They couldn't even hope to retrieve any computer files.  The mission was a bust.

"One in three," Bunny repeated and Darien frowned at her.  He'd begun to revise his opinion of her and hoped that she wasn't about to have a relapse of ditziness again.  Instead of reverting to her bubble headed manner though, she smiled at him sadly and directed his gaze to Rubius.  "We've now defeated or captured one third of the enemy forces," she elaborated, "There are only two more commanders serving this mysterious prince and Prisma can tell us about at least one of them and maybe the prince as well, since she was seeing his brother."  

Darien's spirits rose. She was right and they still had a little time to try and salvage what they could from the ship itself.  "We might have destroyed the bridge," he told her, "But surely there're other interesting places we could investigate before we evacuate.  There was a library, a communications room and a workroom at the very least on the map Mercury made"

She bit her lip thoughtfully.  "Didn't Bertie say something about a room Rubius used to go into to receive his orders?  It's supposed to be near the bridge right?  That means it shouldn't be too far off.  We could make a small detour on our way out...  Maybe we could find something in there which would let us eavesdrop on the other commanders?"

How could he ever have thought she was stupid?  "Perfect Meatball Head!"  She rolled her eyes at the name that was no longer an insult but rather an endearment between the two.  He chuckled and quickly ran through his mental map of the place.  "This way!" he said, grabbed her hand and pulled her back through the door they'd entered by.  They had so much to do and so little time in which to do it.

***

Rini looked at the four sisters dubiously but Bunny had promised that they were safe now and she should know.  Still, it was hard for her to forget that they were the same ones who'd chased her through time to capture and use as a hostage against her mother.  Then again, if she had not known them before, it would be hard to imagine them wanting to hurt anyone... other than each other that was.  Even as she thought that, Rini saw the two younger sisters unite against the elder pair.

"Don't you dare say that we're babies," Catzi screeched, "We are perfectly capable of holding our own!"  Even if she wasn't too fond of the four women, Rini was glad that Catzi hadn't taken Rubius' death too badly.  Bunny had told her that the youngest sister had been fond of the villain but, in truth, Rini thought that it was Bunny herself who regretted his death the most.  Not that it was that unexpected; the more Rini came to know Bunny the more she seemed like the future self that Rini knew and loved... just a lot more mischievous... and louder.

"Oh come on!" Avery protested shrilly, "Rini outsmarted the both of you."

"That would imply a certain lack of maturity," Prisma agreed.

The two eldest sisters had adapted to their powerless state very quickly.  When Bunny had fetched her after the mission was over, she had taken Rini to the apartment Catzi and Bertie had rented and Rini was able to watch her 'cousin' work on them.  She was still too young to understand most of what Bunny had done but Rini knew that it wasn't as easy as the other scouts seemed to think it was.  It was seeing how the elder Lunarian played down her abilities with the others that made Rini really believe what Puu had told her, the Meatball Head routine was all an act.  She'd always believed what Puu told her but now she _believed and felt a lot safer in the bargain.  Of course she'd never be able to prove it to anyone else, like the girls who were the scouts, but then Bunny obviously didn't want them to know.  All in all, Rini felt very good to know that Bunny trusted her with the truth and so she watched the gathering with interest and Bunny most of all._

Rini's mind drifted away from the sisters' argument to consider the strange girls that Bunny had introduced her to.  Of course Bunny didn't know that Rini knew them, well their future selves, but Rini would never have guessed who they were anyway, just like with Bunny.  They were all so different from their future selves.  Mina was so... boy crazy!  And so was Lita... it was kinda weird.  And Amy was so shy and Raye was so bad tempered.  When Rini had whispered something about it to Bunny earlier, the blonde had laughed and said that they were all just teens, they would mellow as their hormones settled down and until then she was going to enjoy the fun.  Rini shook her head. The best thing was still finding out that Darien was Tuxedo Mask.  It was nice to know that she could really trust him but now she was curious as to why he'd stopped arguing with Bunny.  Yesterday they wouldn't stop and now he just looked at her as if she were an alien...  Maybe... Maybe he'd found out that she was a Lunarian and that was why he was treating her so differently.

Rini's thoughts were interrupted when Darien sat down next to her.  She looked up at his face intently and tried to see if he knew the truth.  Her intent gaze didn't scare him, he merely smiled at her kindly and sipped his coffee.  Then Mina's voice caught her interest.

"They may be younger than you but at least Catzi and Avery weren't caught without a fight.  You two didn't notice a thing when Lita and I snuck up on you this morning!"

A quick glance at Darien showed that this was news to him as well and Rini paid more attention.

Avery flushed and motioned wildly.  "Well who could blame us?  We were watching those two," she quickly pointed at Bunny and Darien, "Charging down the most guarded corridor on the whole ship, arguing their heads off and destroying all of the unseen watcher droids and even the primary warrior droids which guarded the bridge without even breaking a sweat!"

Mina nodded to concede the point.  "I'll admit it was pretty cool but your screen thingy went black as soon as they entered the bridge and we didn't get to see more than a second or so..."  She turned to Bunny and mock scolded, "And you promised that you wouldn't misbehave today!"

Bunny wrinkled her nose and whined, "But he started it!"

Rini glanced at Darien who just stared at Bunny strangely.  The girl wondered what he thinking about to look so serious.  Maybe he thought that she should act like a Law Keeper should but Rini was sure that Bunny wouldn't let him know what she was, even if that meant hypnotising him the way they both had hypnotized the Tsukinos.

"You can both stop pretending now," Raye retorted slyly, "Everyone knows that the pair of you are a natural team!"

Bunny's protests were joined by Darien's, but both were strangely half-hearted.  That's what Rini thought anyway but the others didn't seem to notice.  Something her uncle once told her came back to Rini, he was talking about the most natural partnership he had ever met.  Rini looked up at Darien again with new insight.  She already knew who Bunny was in the future, was it possible that she would know Darien as well?  Could he possibly be...?  She looked away, deep in thought.  That would mean he had the Imperial Silver Crystal!  That made her job a little easier and it explained so much.  She turned to look at Darien again and discovered that at some point in her musings he had left her side and started toward the balcony doors.  A quick glance showed that Bunny was missing and, on impulse, Rini left her seat and slipped unnoticed through the crowd.

She reached the balcony door to see Bunny staring out over Tokyo while Darien talked to her quietly.  The girl moved as close as she could and ignored her conscience so that she could eavesdrop.

"Why?" Darien demanded harshly, but quietly, "Why do you insist on playing the fool?"

Bunny didn't turn to look at him when she answered with a strangely sad voice.  "Do you know that this," she waved vaguely at the sprawling city, "Is a holiday for me?"  She bent down so that she could lean her elbows against the railing.  "Here I have no responsibilities except those I choose and no one expects anything from me...  I can be flippant or scatterbrained without worry of censure and you have no idea how free that can make you feel."

"So you act like an idiot to let out steam," Darien replied.

Bunny shook her head and turned to face him.  "No," she laughed, "I act like an idiot to bug you!"

Rini saw Darien stiffen.  "What?!"  Rini had no doubt of who he was now. She knew that particular voice too well for her liking.

Bunny wasn't afraid of the cold tone though, for she replied softly but proudly, "The first day we met, we didn't get off to a good start but the second time, I did prove that I was competent.  However when we met for the third time, you remembered only the bad things you knew of me."  Her voice became rebuking in turn, "You judged me unfairly.  You did not wait until you had enough information and you dismissed what did not fit with your picture of me.  When I saw you there, by the window that day, I was prepared to forgive and forget but you ensured that that wouldn't be possible.  So I decided to give you what you told yourself you saw.  Every time you irritated me, I responded in a way best calculated to annoy you.  Whining, klutzing out, acting like I'm scatterbrained... though I will admit that I am quite loud given the chance even in ordinary situations."

Darien looked confused, many different emotions playing across his face.  Mainly he looked like he didn't know whether to be angry or embarrassed.

Bunny walked past him and back to the door.  Rini huddled back, under the curtain, but a quick wink showed that Bunny had seen her.  Before Bunny left the balcony, she turned back to tell Darien one last thing.  "You remember the day we met Darien?"

He laughed bitterly and Rini knew with a sudden perception that, although he wasn't happy with her, it was himself he was most angry at, not Bunny.  "Of course I remember," he snapped, "You were spaced out and knocked the both of us into a creek."

"Actually I was tracking the local energy fields," Bunny informed him gently, but that gentleness seemed to hit him with a force as great as a blow from a fist, "There were abnormalities that I was trying to discover the origin of.  They're why the wood was rotten in the railings by the way."  With that she walked past Rini, rejoined the women talking in the lounge room and left Darien alone.

Rini watched Darien for a while but when he showed no interest in returning to the gathering, she went out to join him.  For a little while they just stood next to each other but somehow, as time passed, Rini found herself being hugged close to him.  She loved the feel of his strong arms around her and the smell of roses and musk that she missed so badly.

"It seems she's not a Meatball Head after all," he finally said, "She never was one."

"Yes she was," Rini disagreed, "It might have only been for fun but it was real."

"You were right Munchkin."

Rini remembered that she'd told him that Bunny might have just been pretending when they'd been at the pool and he hadn't believed her.  But that was no reason for him to be so sad.  "What's wrong?" she asked him.

"I owe her an apology," he answered, "I behaved very badly towards her."

"Because she tricked you," Rini felt obligated to remind him.

He was silent a moment before he spoke again and his next words scared Rini more than anything else she'd heard.  "We almost died today." She looked at him in shock and he smiled at her miserably.  "We didn't tell the scouts and I don't know why I'm telling you this but Rubius trapped us and was killing us.  I don't know how we got out of it but when we woke up Rubius was dead and we were free.  I don't remember much of what happened and she doesn't either but it was then that I realised that she was only pretending to be an airhead.  I should have known earlier but I was too stubborn to admit it."  

He heaved a huge sigh.  "I was wrong and I hate being wrong but do you want to know what's worse Rini?"  She nodded at him and his lips twitched in a wry smile.  "I hate apologising even more and now I have to apologise to the _Meatball Head!"  He shook his head in mock pain and Rini giggled.  "C'mon Munchkin," he said and began to lead her back into the apartment._

"Are you going to say sorry now?" she asked.

He shook his head and winked at her.  "In front of everyone?  Of course not!  That's adding insult to injury!  I'll wait until I can talk to her alone... promise me that you won't tell her?"  Rini nodded earnestly and he smiled again.  "Thank you, now let's get an ice cream, all these gossiping girls are getting on my nerves.  Why can't they all be sensible like you?"

Rini grinned at him.  He was a lot more like Bunny than he realised.

***

"So you're not sure what happened?" Andrew asked.  Bunny and her twin lay on the roof of the Tsukino's house where they discussed the day's events while they stargazed.

Bunny shrugged.  "I think we got caught in a feedback loop.  A telepathic channel opened between us because we were touching and it didn't close when I moved away.  His emotions grew too strong, I wasn't prepared for them and they started to hurt me, which in turn made his emotions, mostly fear and anger, stronger.  Then Rubius interfered, making things worse and both Darien and I exploded almost simultaneously.  I caused the most damage but that's only because I was a split second faster than him."

Andrew frowned in confusion.  "But the level of power I sensed... Those were two alpha level power readings, the silver was slightly stronger than the crimson but Mother agreed with me, there were two.  How could Darien give off that kind of power?  I know that a lot of your magic is hidden but he still shouldn't have been able to match you so closely.  He's not even supposed to be beta level." 

"I think most of his power is latent," Bunny mused after a moment, "In normal circumstances he would never touch it but then he got caught in the feedback loop with a warrior who is alpha level even after the restrictions on her power are taken into account..."

"You think he was driven to match you while your minds were feeding back on each other?"

"Yeah."

"Divine Stars."

"Yeah."

"Our mother's going to want to know."

"Yeah."

"This is going to change things."

"...  Not really."

"Oh?"

Bunny turned her head to look at her brother.  "It'll only become important if he gets caught in another mind merge with an alpha warrior where the conditions are such that the warrior in question deliberately draws on his magic and catalyses his growth into full strength."

"That would require a soulbond between him and the hypothetical warrior," Andrew calculated.

"Yeah."

"So, he's safe."

"Yeah."

"I'd better call and tell our mother."

"Yeah."

"You get some sleep, I'll wake you."

"Yeah."

"You're an idiot."

"Yeah."

They both chuckled.

***

_She was sitting between his outstretched legs and leaning back into his chest as they both gazed at the night sky.  This time, they were in a huge tree, one of the Jovian giants which had been destroyed in the Fall.  The ground was lost in the mist below them and the Branches extended far over their heads, the topmost branch almost a kilometre off the ground.  Their seat offered a beautiful view of the canopy of stars and, for once, the sky was calm instead of storm ridden._

_ His hands wandered over her naked body freely and she relaxed into his touch.  As one of those warm travellers began to make its way up along the inside of her thigh, she gasped but not because of his touch.  The night sky was suddenly lit up with hundreds of shooting stars.  His hands stilled where they were and he exclaimed in delight.  Together they watched the show and when it ended, he whispered into her ear, "On Earth there were legends that shooting stars were gods travelling through the heavens.  Now, of course, people wonder if they're UFOs."_

_ She giggled in amusement.  "They're neither," she told him, "UFOs aren't permitted into this sector until Earth has returned to space and if gods are stars, then they are the divine stars which sit in the council and guard the various sectors of space under the guidance of the Heart of the Universe."_

_ "So all of those stories of alien abductions...?" he trailed of suggestively and his hands became active once more._

_ She wiggled and laughed breathlessly.  "Pure imagination, the only star travellers that would break the Interdiction would not be so... harmless."_

_ "I wouldn't call the aliens in some of those stories harmless," he protested and started trailing kisses down the back of her neck._

_ She shivered and tried to gather her wits to answer sensibly.  "I...  I know the... the strength of the... of the law of Sel...  Sel...  Selene!"  She pulled away from him and scurried along the branch a little before she turned to face him again.  His deep blue eyes twinkled madly and he deliberately began to stalk her.  She retreated before him, enjoying the game as she tried to finish her explanation, "The law of Selene is such that only the really bad beings would come here and they make your 'little green men', even the worst of them, seem harmless."_

_ Her back came up against another branch and she couldn't retreat anymore.  He grinned smugly at her position and gently pressed her even closer to the branch with his own body._

_ "One last question," he murmured as he nibbled her ear._

_ "Hmmm?"_

_ "Who is the Heart of the Universe?"_

_ "He is the closest thing to a supreme ruler to exist in this reality.  He is the incarnation of order and prevents the Darkheart from destroying the universe.  Only the immortals who serve on the Council know much of him for he dislikes ceremony and so prefers to remain anonymous with those that he can.  My mother says that he is very wise and very likely the oldest living being in the universe.  When she was able to attend the Council regularly, he struck up a friendship with her but she has never told me much of him.  All she will say is that when the time comes, she will take me to him."_

_ He abandoned his attentions to her neck and looked her directly in the eye, his dark gaze intent and perfectly serious.  "Don't be afraid, I'll be at your side when you go-"_

***

"Hey Usa."

Bunny muttered and tried to stop her dream from slipping away before it got to the best part.

"Usa!"

She battered at the irritant that tickled her nose but it was a losing battle.  With ill grace, she opened her eyes and stared balefully at her brother.  He tickled her nose with her own pig tail one last time for good measure and then put the golden locks down.

"I'm going to get you Toki," she growled.

"It's starting," he told her and pointed skywards.

She looked up and decided she might forgive her brother after all.  In a dazzling display of light, the night sky was lit up with hundreds of shooting stars, the last remnants of Rubius and his ship.


	7. Chapter six

The Law Keeper - Chapter six

First in the Book of the Renewal

By Draegyn

Dragynne2000@yahoo.com.au

Idly Darien stirred the dregs of his coffee with the plastic spoon and absently blew a lock of his black hair out of his eyes.

"Hey, Dare, are you all right?" Andy's voice broke into the brooding man's preoccupation.

Darien looked up at his blonde friend and blinked.  It was a couple of moments before he realised that he had been asked a question.  He forced himself to gather his scattered wits and respond.  "Fine, I'm fine Andy."  Andrew frowned sceptically and Darien sighed.  "Honestly, I'm perfectly OK," he insisted."

"Whatever you say," Andrew surrendered and cleared the counter of Darien's cup and spoon.

"Hey Andy..." Darien started several moments later.  

His friend looked up, from where he was now polishing the counter, to Darien attentatively.  Darien grimaced and quickly glanced around the fruit parlour.  Because it was a weekday, it was deserted until three when school let out.  Since his sister Lizzie was still in high school, Andrew had been conned into working by his father when the regular staff had fallen ill.  No one was in there and so no one would hear what Darien was about to ask his friend.

"You know Bunny pretty well don't you?"

Andrew nodded.  "Yeah, why?"

Darien winced and asked, "Could you tell me a bit about her?"

"Sure," Andy answered and paused.  "You haven't got a thing for her, have you?" he questioned anxiously, "Because the two of you will not work, trust me-"

"Whoa!" Darien held up his hands to slow his friend down.  "Me and the Meatball Head?  You're kidding, I hope!   If not, then I'd say you are obsessed with pairing me up with someone."

Andrew breathed a sigh of relief.  "Good.   Not that you wouldn't make a good couple, mind you.  It's just that you aren't right for each other-"

"Andy..."

"Yeah?"

"Will you please shut up about my love life and tell me more about the Meatball Head?"

"Oh sure."  He paused to think for a moment.  "Like what?"

Darien looked at his friend and let his confusion show.  "Tell me about what she's really like.  Sometimes she's such a baby and other times she's... she's so strong.  I don't get it."

"Ahhh," Andrew breathed in understanding.  "The way she's been goofing about has been confusing you.  Well Bro, believe me when I say that you mustn't judge her by appearances.  You were right when you said that she was strong.  She looks frail but she's the strongest person I know.  She can do things that would be impossible for anyone else.  

"She feels her responsibilities very keenly and her loyalty is absolute.  She has a heart that can encompass galaxies and although she can be a soft touch, she's also an avid believer in justice.  What else do you want me to tell you?  She has one brother and is very close to her parents even though she has never met her father face to face.  While she's here, she's been staying with a foster family whom she's come to love as much as her own.  She's brilliant, even if she doesn't act it, and you'll probably find that she knows as much as we do about science.  She loves to dance and is the most graceful person I've ever known and that includes Rita.  She has a keen sense of mischief yet is never malicious.  She makes friends easily but she's the loneliest person I know.  That's why I'm trying to set you up.  I don't want you to know how that feels.  The only other thing that I can tell you is that she's the only person I've ever met that's as stubborn as you are."

"You make her sound like the perfect woman," Darien said, trying to inject some levity into the suddenly serious conversation.  "I wonder why she hasn't stolen you off Rita."

Andrew snorted.  "Did I mention that she was stubborn?  Seriously, I'll never be able to think of her as anything other than a sister.  Even if I could, Rita is my soul-mate and that means she is the perfect woman... for me anyway."  Suddenly the blonde's eyes went strangely sad.  "If things were different then I would set the two of you up but you're just not right for each other."

Darien raised an eyebrow.  "Oh?  Should I ask why not?"

For a moment Darien thought that his normally honest friend would hedge and that only made his answer all the stranger.  In a voice so laden with regret that it was almost unrecognisable, Andrew replied, "She cannot stay and you cannot go.  If you were to love her then you would be condemned to lose her without ever having her."

There was an uncomfortable silence and Darien forced a chuckle to break it.  "That'd be the day.  Me pining for the Meatball Head... not in this lifetime.  No need to go all weird on me Andy."

Andrew smiled apologetically and the pair wordlessly agreed to drop the topic.  "So what have you got lined up for this afternoon Dare?" the blonde asked, "I hope you're not planning on wasting this beautiful day inside..."

Darien rolled his eyes.  "Look who's talking Mister Sure-I'll-Do-It-Dad."

"Hey some people have gotta work y'know," Andrew protested cheerfully, "Not all of us have got it made like others here."

Darien looked at him innocently.  "I wonder who you're thinking about."

"Yeah, I wonder," Andrew said wryly and Darien smiled smugly.

The bell over the parlour's door jingled and four girls walked in loudly.

"And so Greg is totally gone on Amy-"

"Lita!"

"Shhh Ames, I want to hear this-"

"He virtually drools whenever she's in the same room-"

"LITA!"

"You two stop picking on Amy-"

"Thanks Raye-"

"Awwww."

"Fine, let's talk about you and Chad-"

"Let's not-"

"Oh come on Raye, we have plenty of time."

"Speaking of time, where's Bunny?   Why didn't she come with you guys?"

Raye's voice was irritated as the girls seated themselves in a booth near Darien.  Andrew made his way over to collect their order.

"She's going to be late Raye," Lita replied, "She's got detention."

"What!?  Why?"  It was Andrew who exclaimed, not Raye.

Amy shrugged.  "She fell asleep in class."

"It didn't help that she yawned in the teacher's face before she drifted off," Lita added, "And it's not like she tried to hide it or anything.  I mean she's pretty loud when she has a bad dream."

Mina pouted.  "It's not fair, I want to go to your school.  You guys have all the fun."

Raye scowled.  "I wouldn't call a snoring blonde fun."

Andrew's lips quirked and only Darien caught his muttered, "I can think of a couple of situations where a snoring blonde would be an indication of fun."

Darien raised an eyebrow and Andrew winked at him, implying all manner of situations which teenage girls should not be a party to.  Darien snickered and, when the blonde man had returned to the counter to fetch the girl's orders, he whispered, "Are you sure that you're not a lech?  Because you really are doing a great impression of one."

"Bite your tongue," Andy retorted cheekily, "I'm cut that you would even consider such a ridiculous notion in that thick head of yours."  Darien snorted and Andrew grinned widely, "Why would I want a blonde when I have Rita?  Who, by the way, doesn't snore."

"Yeah, yeah, actions speak louder than words Bro," Darien gibed, "And I don't see you leering at Rita like you do with anything else even remotely female."

Andrew sniffed in a superior fashion and retorted pompously, "I'll have you know that only the most outstanding ladies are graced by a leer from me..."

"And Rita?"

Andrew's lips twitched.  "I would if I thought she wouldn't knock me six ways to Sunday for doing so."

"Rita's got to be a witch.  What else could make you act like a gentleman with her?"  Darien grinned outright and Andrew smiled at the old joke.  Darien sighed and stretched before he stood.  "I'll see you later OK Andy?  This place is going to be full of kids in a bit and I'm not in the mood for that today.  His friend nodded absently, too involved in filling the girls' orders to pay much attention, and Darien left the fruit parlour.

He strolled down the street musing over the things he'd learned in the last week.  His thoughts drifted from Bunny, and the problem she presented to him, to her talk of energy fields and patterns.  As he walked, he found he could almost see what she was talking about, or rather feel.  It was almost as if he was in the middle of a stream with the current pressing against him and he wondered how he could have missed it before.  The sensation was very faint and he almost walked into a pole because he focused entirely on the feeling rather than the real world.  Obviously Bunny was a lot more sensitive to the currents.  Either that or she'd had a lot more practice... probably both.  

That led him to another line of thought: how did she become so good at magic without him or the scouts finding out about it?  When they'd fought Beryl, he and Mina had scoured the northern hemisphere for others like themselves who were capable of magic and not once had they found a trace of someone like Bunny.  She never told them where she'd come from but it couldn't have been too far away if she grew up with Andrew.  They were very familiar with one another so it couldn't have been too long ago that they'd separated. But Darien had known Andrew for five years now and his friend had never left Tokyo in that time.  Maybe they'd become pen pals, his blonde friend had been in a totally new country, maybe he needed something to help keep him from getting homesick.  Then why hadn't Andrew ever told him about her?  Afraid he'd fall in love?  Not likely, but the other man was anxious about it apparently.  Darien couldn't really understand.  She was nice enough he guessed but he wasn't interested in a relationship.

Of course he'd noticed that Bunny was very attractive and that loveliness was only emphasised by his own, irrational, protective instincts concerning her.  Still, he didn't believe that Andrew had any reason to think that Darien was at all interested in her in anyway.  Especially since Andrew didn't know that his friends were super heroes... or did he?  Darien had never told him about his alter ego but Bunny might have told him about hers.  Andrew hadn't said anything about it so she probably hadn't but the blonde man was unusually understanding of Darien's sudden absences.  Normally Darien was grateful for such tolerance but suddenly it occurred to him to be suspicious of it.  

He pondered his friend's peculiarities for several minutes before he dismissed them.  Andrew was his oldest and truest friend.  Even if he did know his secret, Darien knew he could trust him.  In fact, he might even think about telling the other man willingly, having a man to talk to about being Tuxedo Mask might make things easier on him.

He began to debate the pros and cons of coming clean with his friend when a faint fragrance threw his mind off onto a tangent.  For a moment he flashed back to the day at the pool and the similarly scented silver liquid he had discovered on his shoulder.  He'd had Amy analyse a sample he had managed to save.  She had only been able to perform a rudimentary examination in between the events of the past couple of days and the results had been perplexing.  It was a biological substance designed to support life yet was composed of a complex crystal matrix that should not have existed in a liquid state.  In other words, it seemed to be the blood of something that wasn't human.  All Amy could suggest was that it had come from one of the Darkmoon droids but the sample had decomposed before she could even hope to make sense of it and Darien was left with a sense of dissatisfaction at the explanation.

Moments later his thoughts were interrupted when a slender shape barrelled into him, hard.  He rocked back on his heels and grabbed his attacker while he tried to keep them both on their feet.  A second later he recovered his balance and looked down to find that his hands were wrapped around the tiny waist of his bewildering nemesis.  Memories of his previous train of thought surfaced and even as he opened his mouth to snap, he compared her personal odour to the smell of the strange blood.  He didn't get to speak a word and his thoughts were scattered as he abruptly recognised her anxiety.

"Thank god!" she burst out, her face pale despite the pace she had obviously been maintaining to hit him with such force.

Her worry was plain in her eyes and it almost seemed as he could feel it himself, so his voice was gentler than it would have been otherwise.  "What's the matter Meatball Head?"

She looked at him in disbelief.  "You can't feel it?" she demanded incredulously and then shook her head in disgust that he knew was aimed at herself not him.  Her hands rested on his chest and she looked up at him earnestly.  "The energy fields have gone haywire.  Whatever the Darkmoon family is up to, they are screwing with the natural order of things.  Absolutely everything on this planet is danger.  The damage is global-"

His hands tightened and pulled her closer.  "Are you sure?"  He shook his head.  "Forget that, of course you are.  What can we do?"

"I don't know!" she grimaced, "I don't know what's causing it and even if I did, I'm not sure I'm strong enough to stop it right now.  It's global and how am I supposed to deal with that like I am now?"

He shook her sharply to calm her down.  "Shhh Meatball Head, simmer down.  We'll get Amy. She can find what's causing it."

"How?" she asked him, "None of you know what I'm talking about."

"Don't underestimate us," he replied, meeting her sapphire eyes.  His lips twitched into a small smile.  "We may not have your superior senses but don't dismiss us out of hand."

She blushed.  "I didn't mean-"

"Yes you did," he insisted softly.  He was half insulted, half amused at her unconscious arrogance.

She scowled and her hands plucked at his shirt.  "I can't help it if you bring out the worst in me."

"I do?"

She glared at him.  "You're the only person I've ever felt the need to deliberately annoy before."

"I'm so honoured," he replied dryly.

"You should be," was her sour response, "I'm not nice around you and I really don't like it."

"My apologies Meatball Head, for being a bad influence on you."

She frowned up at him and he resisted the urge to laugh at her comical expression.  "Are you making fun of me again?"

"Not this time," he told her seriously, "I owe you an apology. I haven't made the situation easy on you."

"No you haven't," she agreed.

He rolled his eyes at her.  "What I'm saying, Meatball Head, is that I'm as much to blame for our difficulties as you are and I'm sorry for it.  You're a good kid and I should know better than go off half cocked like I did."

"Yes," she murmured with deceptive innocence, "Half cocked is not the way."

He looked at her then blinked and looked again.  "Are you related to Andrew by any chance?"  Her eyes widened and, although it didn't show on her face, he knew she was chagrined.  

Whatever she might have said in reply was lost in a sudden gust of wind.  Her ponytails whipped around them and his newly discovered sensitivity for energy fields, weak though it was, prompted him to look up at the same time she did.  It was small, barely a speck in the sky.  He wouldn't have noticed it if it weren't for the feeling of evil that it projected.

"What...?" he whispered.

"Darkmoon," Bunny answered harshly.

He looked down at her in disbelief and was surprised at the outright fury in her face.  She noticed him staring at her and wiped her face of expression but he could still feel her shaking with suppressed anger.  The force of it practically beat at his temples.  She blinked in surprise at something and pulled out of his hold before she looked at him apologetically.  Almost immediately the clamour in his head stopped.

She wrapped her arms around herself and shifted uneasily.  "The sisters and Rubius don't come from Earth.  That'd be why you haven't heard of them before.  That speck up there is their home which they have dared to bring here."

"You're saying that they're putting a second moon up there?" he asked in growing outrage and she nodded.  "But that'll put the whole planet in jeopardy.  The gravitational pull of a second moon... debris...  They're going to destroy the world!"

She nodded unhappily.   "Yeah.  It won't be too long until we start seeing physical manifestations of what's already happening in the energy fields.  We'd better find the others.  I don't think we have much time."  She smiled wryly.  "Our truce has come none too soon."

***

Rini followed in Bunny's wake as the other girl raced towards the shrine where Darien was going to take the scouts.  It was barely five minutes since Bunny had burst into the Tsukino household, grabbed Rini and dashed off again, without a word.  Of course Rini hadn't needed an explanation as soon as she had gotten outside and felt the cloak of dread that had descended on the city.  The girl glanced up quickly at the dark sphere that lurked in the sky.  Bunny had told her enough for her to know that it had appeared, barely half an hour before, and in that time, it had grown from a speck to a black disc the size of the Moon.

Rini shuddered convulsively as she ran after her 'cousin'.  Bunny had warned her of some of the effects that the Darkmoon would have on Earth and she could see evidence of them everywhere.  Hurricane winds scoured the streets, the ground shook in steadily growing tremors and, overhead, dark and ominous clouds were brewing a storm the likes of which hadn't been seen on Earth in millennia.  A sudden gale almost swept the small child off of her feet but the elder Lunarian picked her up and continued without missing a step.

As soon as she was in the other's hold, distant voices began to echo in Rini's head.  Young though she was, Rini was well educated about both of her heritages.  So she knew that her proximity to the other Lunarian had allowed them to bypass each other's mental shields.  Bunny's shields were lowered so that the blonde could bespeak a being far removed from Earth.  That was probably the only factor that allowed Rini to broach the elder Lunarian's shields, despite their closeness, and what those beings were saying found its way into the child's mind as well.  Clumsily, Rini attempted to listen to the conversation, an effort not lost on Bunny who could not afford to spare the time to cut Rini from the link.

_*Things are growing more severe by the moment-*_

_ *We are aware of that, my son, yet we are limited in what we can do.*_

_ *I know that Mother, but I'm only barely holding the world together.  Even conversing to you risks the frail balance that Reika and I have formed.*_

_ *Mama, we need to act.  Recall Luna and Artemis, send some of the guards to watch the boundaries but we need all the guardians within reach.*_

_ *We already come, Princess.*_

_ *Thank you my friends.  My daughter, I have done what I am able so that our world counters the Darkmoon but it only slows the catastrophe.  Your brother can testify to this*_

_ *She's right Usa. Earth is being torn apart by the arrival of this second moon.  Powerful we may be yet not even we can prevent the death of this world if the Darkmoon remains.  Even as it is, both Reika and I risk announcing our presence to the world at large as our illusions slip due to the power we're expending...  I can see it now. The headlines tomorrow will read, 'beings of light seen over the Crown Arcade, news at seven!'*_

_ *Even the Silver Keep is beset by difficulty.  Between the shields I have erected for the protection of our people and the spells to neutralise the Darkmoon, I am involved to the limit permitted me.  I am allowed no further action.*_

_ *Mother we can't-*_

_ *No we can't Toki, but what our Mother is prevented from doing, I am not.*_

_ *Usa-*_

_ *Princess-*_

_ *My precious Serenity, what you imply is a massive task that could render you catatonic for several months.  Are you equal to it?*_

_*I'm young for our people, I know, but I'm powerful and the training I've undergone to become your Guardian has only made me more so.  I am capable, my problems lie elsewhere.*_

_ *The reincarnates.*_

_ *Right. I had begun to hope that memory spells would remain unnecessary.*_

_ *Just do what you have to Usa.  If what's happening to me is any indication, they will not be able to see your true form through the light you will radiate.*_

_ *As you will, do you have a suggestion of where I should do this?*_

Rini finally managed to find her mental voice.  _*Do what?*_

_ *Who?*_

_ *What?*_

_ *Rini?!*_

_ *Aye, Mithrillea lirreial, Small Lady-*_

_ *Rini But how?*_

_ *How do you think, Toki?  She is within my arms even as I bespeak all of thee.  She's Lunarian, what'd you expect?  Rini may I introduce my Twin, Tranquillity.*_

_ *Tranquillity?*_

_ *Call me Motoki, Rini.*_

_ *Our teacher and friend, Luna.*_

_ *Well met Small Lady.*_

_ *Hi...*_

_ *And my mother Selene, High Lady Serenity.*_

_ *...*_

_ *Do not fear child. I apologise that necessity has caused our meeting to be so abrupt yet I am pleased to meet you at last.*_

_ *Me too...*_

_ *Now, what did you want to know Rini?  Better hurry, time is escaping us.*_

_ *I just wanted to know what you were going to do that's so dangerous?*_

_ *She is going to construct a shield similar to the one that Queen Serenity has created over the moon.  The problem is that the Earth is much larger and Usagi has not had the aeons her mother has to grow in power.  It may prove too much for her and, if it does, the spell will fail and, at best, her spirit would need to retreat for an extended period to recover from the backlash.*_

_ *That would mean that, even if by some miracle the Earth survives, Darien and the scouts would be alone in opposing the Darkmoon family.  There are factors involved that the reincarnates are not and cannot be allowed to be aware of.  At worst, she could be killed-*_

_ *We have no choice Toki.  You must remain as you are until the Darkmoon is either removed or a shield is in place, which leaves only me.  Trust me when I say that I would rather have your help with this fy braud but we do not have that luxury.*_

_ *I know Usa.*_

_ *The courtyard of Raye's temple should suffice.  Heart bless all of you.*_

_ *And you Usa.*_

_ *Speaker guide thee, Princess.*_

_ *Have strength my precious Serenity.*_

One by one the connections were severed until all that remained in Rini's mind was the faint sense of Bunny and even that faded as the teen raised her mental walls once more.  The conversation, like all such mental exchanges, had occurred in the blink of any eye and the temple was still two blocks away.  Rini looked up at the girl who carried her at a break-neck pace.  Bunny's face was determined but her eyes were gentle when she glanced down at her young burden.

"Question Spore?" she asked, not even breathing heavily.

Rini nodded jerkily.  "Puu called you Serenity but your brother called you Usagi.  What's your real name?"  Rini already knew the answer but she was hoping that it would lead to the one she truly wanted.

Bunny's lips formed a quirky smile.  "My name is Serenity, like my mother's.  That means the people who know us need a way to tell the difference between us.  One of them is that she is Queen while I am Princess but my favourite is the use-name Usagi, much the way Tranq is also Motoki.  She began calling me that when I was an infant and I like it because I dislike the formality of Princess Serenity or Precious Lady Serenity."

She was getting closer to telling Rini what she wanted to know and the younger girl encouraged her to continue.  "Precious Lady?"

Bunny rolled her eyes.  "Don't ask me why the Speaker suggested Mama call me it.  Who knows what an entity that serves as the Heart of the Universe has in mind when he does something.  All I know is that it's another way for people to keep me separate from my mother, High Lady Serenity and Precious Lady Serenity.  Maybe the Speaker thinks that the name Serenity should have a title with it?"

"So why did you call me Small Lady?" Rini asked the question she was really interested in.  One which had been bothering her because Bunny couldn't possibly know that it was what she was known as in her own time.

Bunny frowned.  "I don't really know."  Abruptly she grinned.  "Maybe it's because you remind me of myself when I was around your age.  I was always in trouble too..."  Bunny looked at her confidingly.  "Let me give you a piece of advice, never turn anyone into a frog until you're sure that you can turn them back!"

Rini felt her eye go round.  "You turned someone into a frog?!"

Bunny grumped defensively. "Well, I eventually figured out how to turn him back."  Suddenly she laughed.  "At least I never got myself stuck in another shape, not like Motoki!"  She winked at Rini.  "He doesn't know that I know but my smart-alec brother got himself stuck in the form of a cat for a while...  Ah we're here!"

Rini looked away from the blonde's now grim face to the temple grounds.  The courtyard was a large, empty expanse paved in large stones.  Bunny lowered Rini to the ground and the pink haired child looked about in vain for the other scouts.

"Where's everyone else?" she asked.

Bunny frowned and her eyes became distant.  Moments later they cleared and she grimaced.  "They've been held up by some droids."  Rini must have shown her confusion on her face because Bunny elaborated, "With the Darkmoon actually here in this time and so close to Earth, Diamond, or whoever's calling the shots up there, can just send droids down here, no probs.  I ran into a bunch on my way to get you and I took the long way here to dodge another lot...  Damn!"  She looked down at Rini in frustration and Rini realised that Bunny was worried that something would happen to Rini while she was distracted.

Then with a decisive nod, Bunny seemed to shake off her humanity.  In between one moment and the next, the human teenager became the Guardian of Selene.  The show of light that occurred when she changed illusions was absent as Bunny just stopped hiding herself and revealed what she truly was.  Rini had no doubt of who she was now, for it was Serenity who stood before her in her glory.  No, not all of her glory, Rini realised when some of the shock had worn off.  Serenity was still concealing much of what she was and if Rini didn't have an idea of what she was from Puu then the girl would never have noticed.

The being in front of her was nearly a foot taller than her human alias, her silver-gold hair spilled to the ground from their buns but the eyes were brighter and more luminous.  The crescent on her forehead flashed and feathery wings of purest white stretched towards the sky.  Although Lunarians weren't normally winged, it was now plain to Rini that Serenity hid much of what she was so that she would fit in with her own people.  The cause was obvious now to Rini. Serenity was not just the Lunarian princess, she was also the child of two Council Members.  For all of her birth race, with a lineage like that, she would always stand out.

It took Rini several minutes to understand that Serenity had worked some powerful magic.  It wasn't until she noticed that the Guardian was looking at someone behind her that Rini turned to find the four sisters, magic restored.  Rini gaped for an instant before Serenity forced her to turn and face her.

"I have called the sisters to guard you Small Lady.  If anything should happen to me you must let them take you to Andrew.  My brother will know what to do and, if necessary, he can send you to our mother."

"Andrew?!"

Serenity eyed her firmly.  "One was needed to serve Selene on Earth and Tranquillity was chosen.  Remember, go to him if the worst happens but only then, not before."

Rini nodded, speechless, and Serenity stood.  The Guardian moved to stand in the centre of the courtyard while Rini retreated to stand with the sisters.  Serenity's eyes met Rini's with a knowing expression.  Rini saw that the warrior knew that the girl wanted to see what she really looked like and that she was about to be granted her wish.  Then all thoughts were washed away as the angel rose into the air and became a being of pure light.

***

Tuxedo Mask took a moment to regain his breath as the last droid disintegrated.  Not too far away Venus and Jupiter were sprawled on the ground, puffing madly themselves.  A gust of wind whipped his cape out wildly behind him and the two scouts were forced to spit out mouthfuls of hair.

"This is not my idea of fun," Venus huffed sulkily.

Jupiter grinned.  "Great exercise though."

"You could stand to lose some weight, Venus," Mars mocked as she and Mercury appeared.

Tux ignored the blonde's pout and looked to the newcomers.  "Anything new?"

Mercury shook her head.  "Nothing we didn't already know.  The Darkmoon is getting closer.  We've dealt with most of the droids but there's nothing to stop more from appearing."

Mars nodded in agreement.  "Yeah, we just took care of a bunch near the park but all we're accomplishing is damage control.  We've done nothing to solve the problem."  The ground rumbled threateningly and they all paused for a minute to listen.

"Well what do you suggest?" Jupiter drawled after a moment and waved at the new satellite, "How about we all go into space, attach some ropes and tow the bloody thing away?"

"Ha hah," Mars snarled sarcastically.

Tux frowned, "Cut it out you two.  We have to stick together with this.  Mercury, do you have any suggestions at all?"

Mercury shrugged unhappily.  "Get up there and drive it away?"  She ran a hand through her hair sharply.  "The problem is we don't know anything about it.  The sisters didn't say anything about coming from another world and I don't know anything that could get a moon to move.  We need more information."

"And where's Moon?" Mars added, "Why do we have to do all the work?"

"She went to get Rini," Tux answered, "I told her to meet us at the-"  An immense column of dazzling white light appeared in the distance and he finished in a whisper, "Temple!"

"My temple!" Mars shrieked in outrage and took off.  

The others were off and running after her without a thought and it was only a matter of minutes for them to cross the city and arrive at the temple.  Tuxedo Mask perched on the high wall and swept the courtyard with a brief glance.  He saw the four sisters clustered together with Rini protectively placed in the centre.  Then his eyes were drawn to the pillar of light.  Several seconds later he landed near the sisters and stood slowly, his gaze never leaving the light.

It began on the old stones that paved the courtyard and continued to reach up into the dark, intense clouds that had gathered overhead.  In the centre of it he was positive that he could see a figure but the light was so bright that he could not be sure.  The light was mesmerising and without consciously trying, the warrior felt himself falling into a trance.  The energy fields that he could only faintly feel an hour before became starkly clear to him under the influence of whatever power lit the courtyard.  There was a will and reason to it, he could sense it and that will was in no way malicious.  The presence in the pillar was almost familiar to him, though he could not say how, and he felt its efforts.  Whatever it was trying to do was arduous and he could feel it struggling to succeed.

"What is it?" Venus whispered at his side.

Tux shook his head but did not look away.

"It's Bunny," a frightened voice stated.

Tux tore his eyes away from the phenomenon and found himself surrounded by females.  The scouts had gathered on one side, almost but not quite touching him.  The sisters had moved nearer to him and Rini pressed against his side, her terrified eyes glued to the spectacle before them.

"Rini?" he asked softly.

The girl bit her lip, the only sign that she heard him until she answered, "Earth's being torn apart and she had to try something or there'll be nothing left."  A particularly violent tremor shook the grounds and Tuxedo Mask felt Rini gripping him for dear life.

"But what could she-" Venus started, interrupted by a loud boom of thunder.

Tux shook his head, as bewildered as she.  To have any effect on the situation would require more power than it was possible for a human to possess.  There was no way for her to succeed even though it was obvious that Bunny had a lot more magic than she'd let on.  As he looked up towards the glowing heart of the pillar, he felt no anger that the teen had kept secrets.  Instead all he felt was a deep and powerful fear for the blonde mage.  The magnitude of her struggle resounded in the depths of the Earth to which his Earthborn senses were attuned.  He felt her losing her hold on the massive spell she was attempting and he willed her to be strong.  He knew he was asking the impossible of her yet he asked it anyway.  With all the power due to him as a Terran prince, he called on his home to support its defender.

"Come on Meatball Head.  Save my planet."

***

The magic that flowed through her was agony.  The flood of power had burned her senses raw but she could not afford to surrender.  Distantly, she felt the silver spell workings of her brother and his mate that held the world together in a fragile web.  He could not spare the focus to reach to her nor could she risk the distraction of reaching for his mind.  She had no choice but to complete the spell on her own.

She hadn't let any of her friends or family know how scared she had been at the prospect of such a major casting.  The spell was one even her mother would hesitate to try in the magnitude that was necessary but there was no other option.  Her mother and Luna might suspect her terror but they also knew there was no other way and so had remained silent.  Her brother undoubtedly knew her terror, as she knew his, but once more they were not free to choose their fates.  Still she had been able to conceal her fear from both Rini and the sisters, burying it under the need to keep the little girl safe but that need was gone now.  Both the reincarnates and the four sisters were with the child now and there was nothing to hold back her fear.

She could not finish this.  If she had begun with any belief of success then she would have been guilty of gross hubris but all she had was the weakest of hopes that something might be saved.  The spell began to slip and the pain of the power was joined by the torment of a breaking spell.  She grasped the working with the last of her will power and laboriously attempted to complete it but even with her sense overwhelmed by power, she did not have enough and the spell began to fail yet again.

She barely registered her brother's web of spells strengthening, the Earth growing more stable even as her grip on her own magic became more tenuous.  A faint golden radiance flowed from the sorcery of her brother into her.  She had never known her brother's magic to feel as welcoming as it did then.  The golden flood energised her and strengthened her will.  Vaguely she wondered at the colour she perceived it to be. Like their mother, both twins tended towards silver magic, but she forgot about it as she grasped her own power firmly once more.

Her determination was bolstered enough that she reigned in the wild spell.  The golden strength offered itself to her but she refused it; her twin could not spare the magic that she would draw from him if they joined their power.  Its presence alone was enough though.   She began to work with renewed heart.  It seemed like an eternity and doubt fought to cripple her but memory of the golden comfort banished it and she worked free of her fears.  Abruptly the workings of the spell seemed to click in place and what had been agony became a rush of pleasure so great, it was almost pain itself.

The shield spread around the entire planet and it was as though the Darkmoon was no longer there.  Behind the wall of power that she had erected she could feel the ominous presence of the Darkmoon and its inhabitants but that no longer seemed important.  The shield she had created was all that mattered.  She became the conduit that powered it, her mind dissolving in the magic now that it was no longer needed.  She didn't know why her personality began to coalesce once more.  Her sense of self-preservation had been drowned by the power and so there was no reason that she shouldn't have remained a mindless part of the spell but she didn't.

Distantly she could hear other minds calling to her and self-awareness returned in a rush.  She could not spare the time to reassure her mother and brother. If she did not hurry, she would once more lose herself in the magic, only this time to never return.  She was the centre of the shield that warded the world but she could not remain so.  An inanimate object was needed to serve as the focus and even as she thought it, the answer came to her.  She summoned Mercury's gift and with a mental twist, it lengthened into a staff.  Time slowed as, step by careful step, she wove the shield spell around the sceptre and finally she was done.  

She relaxed her grip on her magic and the pillar of light shrunk as her power receded until it was a thin beam that surrounded the staff.  She stepped away from the light and blinked in confusion. Everything was dark.  Had her arrogance in performing such a spell sent her blind?  No. Her eyes adjusted slowly.  She realised that several hours had passed and that it was dark because it was night.  She rocked unsteadily on her feet and several people rushed towards her as her knees gave out.  A shadowy form supported her with worry in his dark blue gaze and her heart leapt into her throat with the realisation that she had not remembered to disguise herself before she had left the concealment of the light.  When her reeling mind refused to focus, she shrugged off her worries.

Instead, in a tone of complete surprise, she said to Tuxedo Mask, "It worked!" and succumbed to unconsciousness.

***

Andrew's mental presence wearily watched as his friend lay Bunny on a pallet in the temple.  He was exhausted and he had done nothing in comparison to what his sister had accomplished.  Still, if the mysterious stranger with the golden magic hadn't interfered, he, his mate and his sister would all have burnt their minds to crisps.  As it was, Rita and Bunny were deeply unconscious and he was not far off.

The scouts had settled in for a night of planning while they waited for Bunny to wake up again.  Andrew already knew that Mercury had scanned the comatose girl and found nothing incriminating. Andrew was just as capable as his sister of crafting professional illusions.  When Tuxedo Mask had tucked Rini in at Bunny's side and settled himself on the floor beside the two, Andrew felt it was safe for him to return to his body.  His own weariness was becoming overwhelming and he had only fought it off so that he could ensure that his sister's identity would remain safe.  His mind settled itself in his head and he looked down to be sure that his lady was sleeping safely at his side before he too joined her in slumber.

***

_"I have been closer to dying before," she told him.  He said nothing, only tightened his arms around her.  Her cheeks were damp where they rested on his shoulder and her shoulders began to shake with sobs.  He rocked them both, kissing the top of her head and all of her available face.  "I don't... know why... it's... it's so bad now..."_

_ He stopped rocking her and forced her to look at him.  "You don't have to do this alone," he informed her, "I can help you."_

_ She shook her head and pulled away from him.  Her eyes swam with loneliness as she answered but her determination was displayed all over her face.  "I am a Guardian.  I serve one of the Divine Stars and I cannot shirk my duty."_

_ "And what god demanded that you be alone while you do your job?" he demanded of her._

_ "I don't know," she answered and tears began to pour from her sapphire blue eyes once more.  "It's just the way things have worked out."_

_ He stared at her in yearning. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms but that alone would not banish the stark loneliness he could feel in her.  All he could say was, "I love you."  Her eyes met his in shock.  Disbelief flashed across them but not fast enough to hide a spark of hope.  He took a step closer to her and gently traced the line of her jaw.  "I love you," he repeated, "Without you...  You are my everything.  I couldn't bear to go on without you.  I'll follow you to the ends of the universe and beyond and trust me when I say that I'll never leave you alone.  If need be, I'll hound you for the rest of eternity until you accept me."_

_ She reached up and placed her fingers against his lips.  Her mouth opened to speak-"_

***

"Oh sorry Darien," Mina whispered as he started awake, the memory of his dream already vanishing from his mind.

He rubbed his eyes and ran a hand through his unruly black hair.  "No, I'm fine," he muttered and straightened up.  "How is she?" 

Mina looked back to where Bunny lay on the pallet.  "She's fine," the younger girl assured him, "Still very deeply asleep but after what she's done I'm not surprised.

Darien started to rise from the floor but was stopped by a weight on his legs.  He looked down to find Rini curled up against him.  He sighed. It was starting to be a habit for the child to use him as a giant teddy bear.  Carefully he lifted the pink haired child up and placed her at her cousin's side.  It was a surprise to both watchers when both cousins moved closer to each other.

"There's no doubt about it," Mina said after a moment, "We can't deny that she's been keeping secrets from us."

"Obviously," Darien agreed softly.

Mina looked at him regretfully.  "You were correct, we shouldn't have trusted her."

"No," he shook his head in disagreement, "You were right in that, not me.  We need her and she's given us no reason not to believe in her.  In fact, everything she's done should make us trust her more."

"But she's kept secrets-" Mina started and Darien laughed sourly but softly.

"So have I, so have you and the rest of the scouts-"

"But none of our secrets are of the magnitude that hers is."  Mina shook her head in frustration and tried to make him understand.  "The power she has, the skill, her knowledge... why would she hide it all from us if she wanted to help us?"

"You want a wild guess?" he asked her while he stared at the sleeping blonde.  Mina nodded and Darien looked back at her.  "I don't think this is the first time she's had to handle a mess like this," he told her, "I think she's a veteran and that the people who've worked with her in the past knew what she could do.  I think they lumped responsibility and duty onto her because of it until all she seemed to be was a tool for their cause.  Maybe I'm exaggerating but not by too much I'll bet."

  He grimaced in memory.  "This is a holiday for her, and that's from her own words.  She didn't tell us because she doesn't want to be treated differently."

"We wouldn't-"

"Wouldn't treat her differently?  After what you saw this afternoon?"  He smiled wretchedly.  "If I'd known how powerful she was from the start, I know that I'd have treated her differently.  My tactics during battle would have put more pressure on her.  I'd have depended more on her and I think you girls would have as well."  

Mina opened and closed her mouth but she couldn't disagree with something they both knew to be true.  "She wanted our friendship," she eventually said.

He nodded.  "I can forgive her that.  Besides, I get the feeling that even she doesn't know half of what she can do.  You didn't hear how surprised she was that the shield worked.  Then there was the incident on Rubius' ship-"

"What incident?" Mina jumped in.

"It doesn't matter," he answered quickly, "The only thing that matters is that if I'm willing to give her a chance, as her friends, you should be as well."

She was silent a moment before she answered with more than a little humour, "If the Frog-face is willing to give a Meatball Head the benefit of the doubt then I can do no less."

He looked at her sourly.  "Oh shut up Mina, you know as well as I do that she was only acting that way to annoy me."

"You know?!"

"I've had it rubbed in my face.  Not even I'm stubborn enough to ignore some of the evidence shoved under my nose!"  His tone almost dared her to contradict him.

"I guess I owe her a sundae then," Mina announced, ignoring his challenge.

"Sundae?"

Mina shrugged.  "We had a bet going."

"She bet on me?!"

"Mmm..."

Darien blinked and then glanced at the sleeping girl with an apologetic look.  "I really did irritate her, didn't I?"

"You're not angry?" Mina asked carefully.

"Of course not," Darien answered reasonably and started to leave the room.  At the door he turned back and winked at a stunned Mina.  "So long as I get half of her winnings of course!"


	8. Chapter seven

The Law Keeper - Chapter seven

First in the Book of the Renewal

By Draegyn

Dragynne2000@yahoo.com.au

She stretched out and opened her eyes with a groan, her entire body felt like it was weighted down with lead.  Memory of the shield spell returned and she bolted upright in panic.  The abrupt movements made her head spin dizzily and she reached out desperately to steady herself.  Then she caught sight of her hand.  It was not a remarkable hand, rather small and thin, but neither was it an inhuman hand and it was with a great sense of relief that she realised her brother had recreated her disguise.

More carefully she rose to her feet.  She wove slightly as she made her way to the door but once she reached the hall she was able to steady herself between the walls and headed towards the sound of voices.

"You don't understand, when we came here we broke several laws-" Bunny recognised the voice as one of the elder sisters, most likely Prisma.

A sharp, sarcastic voice interrupted, "Kidnapping, terrorism, destruction of public property-"

"Quiet Raye!  What's that got to do with keeping information from us, Prisma?" That was Darien's pleasant voice that plucked at a string of memory for the confused Lunarian.

"I'm not talking about Terran laws, Darien.  That's not what's bothering us-"

"After all you Terrans can't agree on what's right and wrong anyway-"  

"Avery hush!  By coming here we broke at least two divine laws and if we were to tell you everything about our family we'd only be making things worse!"

"But we can't fight your Prince unless we know what he's capable of-" Bunny knew Amy's reasonable tones as well as Lita's frustrated ones which came next.

"We're going to be left standing helpless while our world is destroyed!"

"No, you won't."  She stepped into the room but kept a hand on the door frame to prevent another lose of balance.  Even that caution proved inadequate when she took in the room.  It wasn't the shocked faces of the people in the room that startled her, if her appearance revealed even a little of how bad she felt then she wouldn't have been surprised at their expressions.  Rather it was the window near which Darien had made his accustomed place.  Instead of the sunlight she expected Bunny saw instead only starless night sky.

"What time is it?" she whispered hoarsely to Lita.  The brunette heaved her back to her feet and helped her to a cushion.

"Nearly ten thirty.  Rini fell asleep about half an hour ago, she's over there near Mina," the green eyed girl answered gently.

Bunny glanced in the direction indicated and found that the little girl was sleeping peacefully but then her mind return to more important matters.  "It's not possible, I would have needed at least twelve hours sleep-"

"You've had nearly twenty-four," Raye interrupted her solemnly.

"The shield spell-"

"Is fine," Amy assured her.  

Bunny shook her head stubbornly, only to make the room start spinning.  Lita was forced to hold her steady once more but the blonde couldn't afford to relax.  "You don't understand-"

"I've been monitoring the shield, Bunny, and it's fine-"

"No!  Not the shield, the staff," Bunny shouted frantically, "The focus... it can't-"  She stopped when Amy's wide eyes revealed that she understood her panic.  Amy darted out the door without a word, Raye close behind.

"I don't understand," Mina told her, "What's the big deal, Amy said the shield was strong."

Bunny cradled her head in her hands.  She was too light-headed and her mind wouldn't focus properly.

"Bunny?"

She forced the words out, hoping that they made some kind of sense.  "I used the staff Amy gave me but nothing on Earth can channel that kind of energy for long.  The staff will burn up and the shield will fall."  She stopped when her words became slurred and the room began to whirl once more.  A roaring filled her ears and she wobbled and shut her eyes.

Something pressed against her lips and she opened them automatically.  The taste of chocolate flooded through her mouth and she swallowed.  Another lump was pressed onto her tongue and she continued to eat, neither knowing nor caring who it was that fed her.  Her mind shut down and allowed instinct to take over.  Whoever it was that had triggered her ravenous hunger understood her body's need for an energy source and gave her only foods that were high in sugar and carbohydrates.  As fast as it was provided, her body metabolised the energy and began the process of replacing some of the body mass she had sacrificed during the previous day.  Her personality returned some time later to find herself licking honey off her saviour's strong fingers.  

She opened eyes to see several wide-eyed faces watching her in fascination and an ocean blue gaze examining her.  She was held close to Darien, one of his hands supporting her back.  She held his other wrist in an iron grip and his honey-covered fingers were still pressed against her tongue.  Embarrassed and flushing wildly, she released him quickly.  He withdrew his hand, pausing only long enough to wipe some honey from the corner of her mouth.

"Feel better?" he asked compassionately.

She nodded and shuffled off his lap, trying desperately to ignore their curious audience and restrain her blush.  The blush proved a lost cause when she saw him lick the remaining honey of his fingers before he screwed the lid back on the jar.  He caught her watching him and winked at her.  

"Weren't there any spoons?" she begged in a plaintive voice.

Mina proudly displayed a stick.  "Yeah, you bit the end off of it!"

Bunny finally recognised the stick as the remains of a wooden spoon.  "I ate wood?!"

"'Fraid so babe!" Lita chuckled, "After that we were afraid to use a metal spoon in case you broke a tooth or something."

"I have to say, it was very brave of Darien to use his fingers," Bertie added, "I would have been afraid to lose them."

"She didn't try to eat me at the start when I gave her the chocolate," Darien shrugged, a depreciating gesture, "I figured I was safe... either that or the Meatball Head's a vegetarian."

That was certainly strange.  It was true that she didn't like meat but that wouldn't have made a difference in the state she was in.  She should have bitten his fingers off and maybe she would have if his life energy weren't so vibrant.  It hit her that he'd been supplying her as much with his own energy as with food and she looked at him sharply.   He raised an eyebrow in question and she frowned.  He would have had to have done so deliberately, it could not happen by accident.  Apparently Earth's former prince had been more educated in his previous lifetime than she had believed.  He had to have been for him to know both the arcane and mundane treatments for acute energy deprivation, a condition that went far beyond mere weariness.

At the thought she felt like kicking herself.  He had recognised her problem when she, several centuries his senior in both age and experience, had not.  Of course she'd never suffered from it before, never having been denied the light of the sun, the stars or her mother's moon.  Creating the shield had done more than drain her, it had blocked of her main sources of nourishment and she still wasn't completely recovered.  That was probably why she had slept so long as well, her body had taken longer to absorb enough ambient energy for her to function than it would have normally...  And she was still hungry.

"Um... how much did I eat?" she asked curiously as she eyed various plates, wrappers and empty jars.

"That's what I'd like to know!" Raye screeched from the door.  Bunny looked up to find the two black haired reincarnates standing in the door but, while Amy examined the scene distractedly, Raye regarded them all with steadily growing outrage.  "What the hell have you lot been up to?  We were only out there for fifteen minutes!"

Lita grinned cockily.  "Oh calm down Pyro, you're just upset because you think we had a party without you!"

Raye glowered at the taller brunette.  "No, I'm upset because the shield that is the only thing between Earth and total destruction will last only two more days at the most and you lot aren't taking things seriously!"

"Calm down Raye!" Darien commanded sharply.

"I will not calm down!" the priestess shrieked, working herself into a rage.  "The world's going to end and all you can do is think of your stomachs!  The whole planet's going to die!"

"Raye-"

"Then why are you so worried about whether or not we left any food?" Lita retorted.  Bunny saw Rini sit up, disturbed by the noise, and she motioned for the girl to stay quiet.  The sisters also saw the gesture and decided it applied to them as well.  Without saying a word they all unobtrusively withdrew into the background.

"Lita, silence!" Darien snapped and turned back to Raye.  "Raye, we used the food because Bunny needed to replace the energy she used yesterday."  He switched his attention to Amy.  "What's the wrong with the shield?"

"Nothing," the petite teen answered and found her former seat.  When she had settled herself she met his eyes squarely.  "Like Bunny said, it's the staff we have to worry about."

"Darien motioned for Raye to sit down.  "Explain," he told Amy.

The girl nodded.  "I created the staff as a focus for the stronger of Bunny's battle spells.  Because the spell was so powerful I tried to make it as durable as I could.  The spell behind the shield is such that it needs constant maintenance.  Bunny would have had to stay in it but, instead, she wove it into an object.  She did this using the staff.  Now the staff is not exactly a focus in this instance, it is more of a channel to complete a circuit and make the spell self-sufficient.  She's been very ingenious in the implementation and there are some very sophisticated workings to ensure that there continues to be enough energy... Although there are one or two aspects which I would have done differently-"

"Amy, don't get technical, we just want the bare facts," Darien reminded her.

The girl blushed.  "Sorry," she replied and addressed Bunny, "But Bunny, if we get out of this alive I would like to pick your brains on several projects of mine-"

"Amy..." Darien admonished wearily.

She blushed brighter and Bunny hid a smile.  "Sorry.  Our concern is the staff that, although I made it well, cannot be exposed to that level of power with out problems-

"Darien," Bunny interrupted what looked to be another lengthy explanation.  They just didn't have the time.  "Do you remember the bridge railing when we first met and what the energy fields in the area had done to them?"  He nodded in growing alarm.  "Whatever else Amy did to it," she told him, knowing he would understand, "My staff was still made of wood."

"It's being burned up," he said aloud to enlighten their listeners.  "How long do we have Amy?"

The younger warrior answered grimly, "Forty-eight hours, maybe more, probably less, before the staff is completely destroyed and the spell dissolves."

Darien shook his head.  "The spell won't dissolve.  From what you've told me of it, when this 'circuit' is broken then the energy will have to go somewhere.  Bunny, did you arrange some kind of grounding?"

Bunny grimaced in chagrin.  "Sorry."

"When the staff is destroyed the backlash energy of the spell is going to hit Tokyo like a hydrogen bomb... a very big hydrogen bomb!" Amy calculated bleakly, "We'll be dead before the Darkmoon destroys the Earth."

"Is that good or bad?" Lita joked into the resulting silence.

"I'm sorry," Bunny whispered in despair, horrified at how careless she had been.  What was worse was the knowledge that she couldn't fix the problem.  She didn't have anywhere near enough strength to mess with the spell and her brother was still unconscious, likely to remain so for days without someone to feed him as Darien had for her.  There was no way he'd be awake for them to combine powers in time.  "I should have thought it through more carefully-"

"Bunny-" Mina started but was interrupted by Darien.

"Meatball Head grow up!  You saved the world and nearly killed yourself in the process.  We're still all surprised that your brains weren't melted down and if you keep talking like that then I'll have no choice but to believe that they were!"  His words were caustic but there was doubt in anyone's mind of his growing respect for her.  

He leaned closer to her and, as they were still next to each other, she felt her affinity for his mind grow.  Hastily she threw off her apathy and reinforced her mental walls.  It seemed to be easier for her to touch his mind every day, even when she didn't have tactile contact she could now attune herself to his mind.  She was so involved in her thoughts that she started in shock when he forced her chin up with his forefinger.  Her mental walls collapsed and for a moment his worry and determination washed through her.  It was difficult for her to detach herself from the mental rapport, over the past several days his mind had been sensitised to hers and reached for her unconsciously.  Yet, ultimately, it was he who released her, his calm thought patterns allowed her to restore mental privacy to each of them.

Her eyes met his, astonished afresh at the potential of the human warrior and amazed at the strength of purpose contained within the mortal shell.  It took her a moment to realise that he had been talking while she had stared and to pay attention.

"-have done more than I though possible, more than anyone could have asked of you.  It's now up to us to make sure that it is enough."  He didn't wait for a response before he turned to Amy.  "Amy, find a way to get us to the Darkmoon and do it fast."

The teen nodded and began tapping away on her computer while she muttered, "Continuous matrix...  Can't go through...  Silver signature..."  

Darien turned to Lita and Mina.  "You two, talk to the sisters, find out all you can about the Darkmoon-"

"We can't," Catzi protested and Darien was on his feet and looming over her in the blink of an eye.

"At the moment I don't care," he growled, "My world is at risk and if you need to break some laws that, by your own admission, you already seem to have smashed to save it then you will.  I need information."

Bunny saw the pleading expression in the woman's eyes and saw her dilemma.  "It's your history and origin that's the problem, right?" She asked, intervening between the two, "So tell them what they need to know about forces, distributions, layouts... you know, statistics.  They're what we need right now anyway."

The sisters cheered up but Darien scowled at her.  "We can't afford to overlook anything."

"We haven't got time," she argued, "Besides there are some things we're better off not knowing."

He looked at her hard but wasted no more time in arguing.  "Fine.  Raye, see if the fire'll tell you anything, if not help Amy with the teleport spell-"

"I'll help," Bertie offered, "Amy's obviously a theoretical genius and Raye seems to be very good with the practical side of magic but neither's of any use if you don't know where you want to go.  They're going to need at least one of us to question."

Darien nodded.  "Do it."  The girls moved off with a sense of purpose and he turned back to Bunny.  "You're with me," he told her.  She blinked at him absently, more focused on the packet of salted nuts beside him.  He must have seen because he handed it to her without a second thought.

"What are we going to be doing?" she asked, virtually inhaling the food.

He looked to where a small, pink haired girl stared at them in apprehension and Bunny's stomach twisted.  She did not want to interrogate the girl but Darien was determined so she held her hand and called, "Rini, come here."

The girl came as she was bidden and Darien led the both of them into the quiet of the room Bunny had awoken in.  He seated himself on the wooden floor, allowing the two girls to occupy the palette.  "All right Rini," he said after a moment, "Who is you mother and where do you come from?" 

Rini's face whitened and she looked to Bunny for help.  The she squeezed the younger girl's hand and cautiously opened up a telepathic channel between them.

_*Mithrillea lirreial?*_

_ *Bunny?*_

_ *That's right Spore now listen, just repeat what I say, OK?  My mother is Mithrillea yvvesandyr-*_

_ *WHAT?!*_

_ *Ow!  Hey Spore, don't shout!  Now do it... It's not like he's gonna know it's a lie.  Now tell him.*_

Rini swallowed and did as she was ordered.  "M... my mother is called Mithrillea yvvesandyr."

He looked at her sceptically.  "Mith... what?"

"Eternal Lady," Bunny translated and he looked at her suspiciously.  She took no offence at his expression, if she were in his shoes she would feel the same way.  She was just lucky that he trusted her, not necessarily believed her but she could console herself with the fact that she could now find a large portion of trust for her in his mind.  She would have to misdirect him very subtly but very firmly and at the same time draw his attention away from Rini.  "It's a very old language," she told him, "One that hasn't been heard on Earth since the Fall."  She stopped and allowed him to draw his jump to the desired conclusion on his own.

"The language you used to..." he trailed off as she deliberately looked away from him and persuaded him that he had reasoned correctly.  He looked at her thoughtfully.  "You called her Small Lady didn't you?  Why?  Do you know her mother?"

She pulled a mask of annoyance over her face as she answered.  "I called her Small Lady because it is a term of affection I am familiar with from my... childhood."  Let him think that she remembered it from a previous lifetime.  "As for her mother, I have never met anyone called Eternal Lady and if I did when she was using another name how could I tell without meeting her?"

"All right Meatball Head!" he exclaimed, "Don't blow a fuse.  OK, Rini, where is your mother?  How can we get in touch with her?"

_ *Tell him you don't know.*_

"I don't know."

"Then how do you keep in touch?" he asked.

"We can't," she replied quickly, "She doesn't know where I am." The girl's eyes begin to water and Bunny squeezed her hand.

*Calm down Rini.  Setsuna and I know where you are and Sets would tell you if anything happened.*

Darien frowned but persevered.  "Why is she so important to the Darkmoon family.  Where has she been fighting?"

_ *Because she's very powerful.*_

"My Mama's very powerful, she's the most powerful person in the universe!"

_*Don't overdo it Spore.*_

_ *But it's true!*_

_ *Maybe so but I don't want to give him any reason to think she's not human.*_

Darien leaned down to look the girl straight in the eyes.  "Then why haven't I met her?" he demanded softly, "Why isn't she here helping us?  And why did you want the Imperium Silver Crystal?"

"Do you have it?" she jumped in eagerly and Bunny swallowed a groan.

_*Spore, stop!  Don't let him know why you're after it.  _I_ don't want to know why you want the wretched thing.*_

Rini calmed down but the damage was done.  Darien seized her slip eagerly.  "How and what do you know of the crystal?"  Rini's ruby eyes widen in fright.

_*Tell him that your Mama used to tell you bed time stories of it.  Say that she said it granted the user's wishes.*_

"Ma... Mama said it grants wishes!  She used to tell me about it to make me go to sleep.  It brings people together and if the person using it is pure of heart then it'll make miracles and I need a miracle 'cause my Daddy's hurt and Mama's caught fighting and can't fix him and I want us to be together again!"

"I think that I know what's happened," Bunny said before Rini lost it.  Darien looked at her in question and, guiltily, she wove her lies, "I think her mother's a reincarnate, like us, but unlike us she was born knowing all of her past.  Can you imagine what that must be like?  Being old when your life's only just beginning?  She calls herself Eternal Lady because she must feel like she's been alive forever and if she's as powerful as Rini believes then she's not going to want to be widely known.  Most sorceresses of my people preferred anonymity and along the way we learn that there is only so much we can do to help others before we have to step aside and let people make their own way.  My guess is she's found an out of the way place to raise her family and her power attracted spies from the Darkmoon to her.  A few weeks or months later we enter the picture."

"We still should have found some sign of her," Darien muttered absently and released Rini from his gaze.  He sat back on his heels and mused aloud, "Mina and I searched for allies when we faced Beryl and surely we would have found her then if she was anywhere near Japan."

"There are countries other than Japan," Bunny reminded him dryly.

He nodded and turned to Rini again.  "Where were you raised Munchkin?"

"The Cry-" she started to answer truthfully when Bunny hastily prevented her.

_*Not a good idea Spore, tell him you lived in Kunanara.*_

_ *Where?*_

_ *Kunanara.  It's a small town in Western Australia, he probably won't have heard of it.*_

"I used to live in Kunan... Kunanara," Rini stumbled for a second but recovered quickly.  However not quickly enough for Darien's sharp ears.

"Where?"

"Kunananara, it's in Western Australia-"

_*Near the Kimberlies.*_

"-Near the Kimberlies," Rini finished without a pause."

Darien cocked his head.  "I think it's familiar, could you say the name again?"

Rini nodded and Bunny held her breath, she should have chosen an easier name for the girl to remember but she didn't know much Earth geography and Kunanara was the only obscure town she could recall. 

"Kunana-" Bunny relaxed and Rini finished, "-nananara."

Bunny swallowed nervously and Darien's eyes narrowed.  "Don't lie Rini," he bit out, "The name gets longer every time you say it.  Where do you really come from?"

_ *Kunanara, and remember only one 'an'.*_

"Kunanar-"

"Don't lie Rini, I don't like my friends lying to me-  Ahhh!"  Darien leaned forward and firmly grasped the girl's upper arm but as his fingers closed like a vice he gasped.  Bunny barely had time to notice it before his mind imposed on the link between her and Rini and swept all three into a vision.

***

Images that were familiar yet altogether new flickered across his mind's eye.  He watched a transparent city raised its spires to the sky.  Ugly grey buildings were replaced with shining towers, congested roads faded away and the grey-brown sky cleared to a beautiful blue.  Its growth was the careful work of decades yet he witnessed it in less than an instant.  

The scene changed and his awareness wandered through the halls of a precious palace.  Smiling people, some old friends, some people he had yet to meet, passed him.  A white haired man argued with a black haired woman before he ended the fight with a passionate kiss.  Neither were human.  Both were beautiful.  A tall, shadowed figure laughed and a pink blur ran into its arms, disappearing within the shadow with a trill of happy laughter.  An ethereal being of silver light joined the shadow and two faces started to form.

Before him the image changed.  Instead of joyful activity there was only a patient silence.  The stillness would have been oppressive if it weren't for the immense sense of love that surrounded him.  Before him, encased in clearest crystal, lay a woman in a deep trance.  Her beauty overwhelmed him and he could not comprehend any individual feature bar one; the golden insignia of the crescent moon on her forehead.

The world faded into nothingness around him and he finally managed to awaken from the stupor he'd fallen into since the bizarre succession of visions had begun.  Everything was dark and he peered around in vain, totally lost and completely alone.  The limbo he was trapped in was so empty that he noticed the silver spark the instant it appeared.  For an endless moment it hung there and then, between one breath and the next, the spark grew and changed into a person he recognised.  Without a thought he grabbed her and her face became horrified before the world disappeared again.

A silver haired woman stood before a small crowd.  For a moment he thought it was the same woman who had slept within the crystal but soon he saw there was only the most superficial of resemblances.  Apart from physical differences, the woman he now saw was, not colder exactly but more distant.  Although this woman was very powerful, even in a trance the first woman had been filled with more life and joy.  Another female, one that was little more than a girl, appeared with a boy her own age.  Both bowed before the woman and on all three a crescent symbol glittered on their brow.  When the girl looked up he an immense sense of recognition overpowered him.

His feeble grasp on reality was lost and his world spun with pictures.  A beautiful civilisation was beset by darkness and Fell.  A white star witnessed the creation of two silver lights, one with a potential that far outstripped the other, and rejoiced.  The silver lights grew and separated, one travelled to a planet beset by trouble and the second patrolled the space around the planet.  Ten old souls awoke to battle an ancient evil, four of them joined to claim victory.  A trail of light blazed its way to Earth.  Two silver strengths met, joined and vanished.  Four reborn souls were briefly illuminated by one of the silver strengths.  A darkness overwhelmed the souls and the silver strength won them free with the aid of an unknown golden ally.  Seven spears of chaos targeted the silver strength.  His mind refused any further sights in a desperate bid to protect his sanity.  One last impression showed the silver power unite with the gold and grow brighter until it was pure white star then a rich warmth lifted him into infinity.

Darien opened his eyes slowly, expecting to see nothing but light.  Instead he found a pair of sapphire blue eyes watching him in concern.  Without thinking, he reached up to cup her cheek in a gesture designed to comfort.  Instead it resulted in Bunny flinching away from him and falling to the floor.  He hid the hurt her reaction caused him by habit and tried to comfort himself with the belief that it did not matter to him what the Meatball Head though of him.  It did not work and he found himself angry for no reason he understood.  Instead of analysing himself, he sat up and reached to the blonde girl again.  She looked at him in alarm and scooted out of his reach.

It was too much and he growled at her.  "I'm not going to hurt you Meatball Head."

"I know that," she retorted and stood, careful to stay out of reach.  "But it's not me I'm worried about."  

Her answer surprised Darien but it was not something that would deter him.  She must have seen it in his expression as she quickly pointed to the palette she had sat on earlier.  On it Rini slept fitfully and Bunny edged around him nervously to perch at her side.

"You touched her and went weird on me.  I think you were seeing things."

"I was," he told her as memory of the first three scenes returned completely along with a jumble of the images that had followed.  "I saw the future, and the past and I think maybe some of the present as well."

"Oh?" her tone of voice startled him out of his distraction and he realised that she had hoped to sidetrack him, instead she had done the opposite.  

Like a snake, he reached out and grabbed her wrist.  The minute their skin touched a wave of worry and helplessness washed over him.  She tried to jerk away but his hold only tightened.  The helplessness in his mind began to recede in a growing tide of anger.

He heard her speaking as if from a distance, "Darien let me go."

"What on Earth?" he asked, his mind still absorbed in the sensation of experiencing emotions which were not his own.  A pain lanced through his arm and Bunny pried his fingers off her wrist, one by one.  As soon as his hand left her wrist the foreign feelings dissipated and he looked at her in stunned amazement.  

Bunny sighed firmly and pushed him down next to the child.  For an instant the strange symphony of emotion returned only to vanish a second later.  She crouched down and met his eyes.  Her voice sounded deadly serious when she said, "Darien, for the sake of your sanity, you must not touch me... and maybe for mine as well."

"That was telepathy," he insisted, "When we touched, our minds did as well-" She shook her head at him and frowned.  Seeing her negative expression, he couldn't understand why she wouldn't admit what she had to know was the truth.  Then again, she might know more than it appeared.  Her earlier warning certainly suggested it but her expression was too ambiguous for him to be sure. He ignored her caution and reached for her once more to recreate the link that had formed between them.

Frustration, worry, regret, determination, wistfulness, a desire to be honest and a fear for and of him touched his mind before she batted his hands away.  Darien took a calming breath and considered her objectively.  Bunny's, now, emotionless face belied the tangle of emotions within her but despite his knowledge of her state of mind her exterior facade gave him pause.  She wore the expression of someone much older than a fourteen-year-old girl but he had the impression that what he saw now was as much truth as her young innocent persona.  He was tired and the shock of his mind connecting with hers had made him giddy.  He had handled it completely wrong.

He sat back and stopped harassing her, aware that she needed to decide how she would deal with the situation.  He would follow her lead but that did not mean he would do so blindly.  He trusted her but he would make his own judgments.  

He looked at her calmly and instead of demanding he asked quietly, "Please tell me what's going on."  Her face remained blank but her blue eyes were like an open book to him and in them he read indecision.  He tried to reassure her and said earnestly, "I know you have secrets Meatball Head, and I'm sure you believe that you have a good reason for them, but this affects me as well and I have the right to know."  Darien paused and tired to find the words he needed to tip the balance.  Eventually he just looked at her honestly and shrugged.  "No matter what happens, it's between me and you, that's all."  He watched as expediency warred with stubbornness and won.

She looked down at her clenched hands.  "Have you ever heard of tactile telepathy?" she asked him in resignation.

Her query surprised him but he immediately understood the relevance of it.  A part of him wanted to start firing questions of his own but he didn't push her, knowing that it would break the fragile balance between them.  Mildly, he answered, "Yes."

She nodded and stood.  She paced uneasily for a moment and he waited patiently for her to continue.  She stopped and met his eyes.  "Obviously it means telepathy through touch, where physical contact between two entities promotes the mental affinity between their psyches.  I'm sure you've realised that that's what happens between us."  He nodded and she continued, "Do you have any idea of how telepathy, any kind of telepathy works?"  

Darien had a fair idea but wanted to know her thoughts on it.  "No, not really."

She pursed her lips and jerked herself down into a crouch so she was at eye level with him.  "Fair enough," she told him, "It's a talent like any other, you can learn it but usually one is born with it.  On the other hand, whether or not you have the raw ability, the capability depends on how much magic you have.  To be an active telepath you have to be at least a beta level mage-"

"Wait," he interrupted, "Beta level?  I don't-"

She hit her head.  "Sorry.  It's a way my people used to have of ranking mages by their active power.  I translate it into the greek alphabet, alpha being the strongest, then beta and so on down.   You are almost a beta level and, from what I've seen, you're probably going to reach that level within the next few years.  It might please you to know that you have a lot of latent power, some of which is surfacing."

"So I'm developing telepathy?"  It didn't feel right to him.  He didn't touch other people unless by accident but if he was at the very least he should have been catching snatches of people's thoughts in crowds.

"No.  As I said, a telepath has to be at least a beta level."

"Then it's you."  He was sure of his reasoning but he was still curious.

She stood abruptly and walked to the opposite wall before she turned to face him again.  She obviously didn't want to say anymore but felt she had no choice.  Darien felt slightly guilty for pressuring her but not enough to let her off the hook. 

"I am an active telepath," she eventually admitted, "But before you say anything I want you to understand that I don't just dip in and out of people's heads on a whim.  It's not a power I take lightly and normally I shield against even inadvertently hearing what someone is thinking."

Darien was surprised to realise that he hadn't even though of her violating his mental privacy and even more so when, after a moment's reflection, he would not resent her even if she had.  She meant what she said about respecting the rights of others and if Bunny had used her power Darien believed that she would only do so with good reason.  It was a strange understanding for a man who guarded his privacy as fiercely as Darien did his own but then the situation was strange.

"OK," he prompted when she didn't go on, "What went wrong between us?"

"It's hard to explain."  She stopped and rubbed her eyes unhappily.  "You see for an active telepath to join minds with a non-telepath requires the telepath to use tactile telepathy.  And you have to admit that, for one reason or another, we've been in contact a lot since I got here."

For a moment Darien thought back to the moment she had collided with him on the bridge barely a week before and catalogued every touch up until a half an hour ago when she had ended up in his arms, licking his fingers.  Whether they were in battle or not, it was as though the universe conspired to force them together.  

He saw Bunny watch him come to the same conclusion.  "So every time we've bumped into one another, you've felt what I'm feeling and thinking?"

She shook her head.  "It's more complicated than that.  I admit that, a couple of times, I've monitored your emotions but that's something I can pick up with the general atmosphere.  There's no real invasion there because I'm not going into your mind.  It's no different to reading the expression on your face."

"But..." he trailed off and watched her expression.

"But," she said reluctantly, "When we were smashed together on Rubius' ship our minds got caught together in a feedback loop.  I remember very little and you don't remember anything but... we both know you get protective of me.  I know you do even if I don't know why.  That irrational protectiveness was over-stimulated by Rubius for some reason.  We were touching and the circumstances were such that my shields were lowered and we linked.  Then the channel started to go both ways and the pain and fear I was feeling went back to you and you went berserk.  I felt it happen, my power roused in response and raised yours in turn.  I don't remember anything after that, the next I knew was you trying to wake me up."  Suddenly her face became disgusted as she spat out, "That's three times this week that I've fainted!  Three times!  I'm-"

She was trying to distract him and he wouldn't let her.  "Meatball Head," she quietened and glanced at him nervously.  "Finish what you were telling me."

She sighed and slipped down the wall until she was sitting.  "The feedback loop between us sensitised your mind to mine and every time we've touched since then you've unconsciously seized the chance to use the touch to reach my thoughts, even when I'm shielded."  She looked at him helplessly.  "It doesn't matter how strong my mental walls are, whenever we're together I find myself needing to rebuild them.  It's getting so that we don't even have to be touching for your thoughts to start leaking into mine and now it's going two ways!  We need to keep distance between us otherwise you could end up going mad, your mind isn't made for sharing in this way."

Then why did it feel so natural for him?  It was almost like a drug, the power to glance into her thoughts with only a touch was more than attractive.  It was addictive, even the knowledge that she would see as much of him as he of her did not make the idea abhorrent.  The opportunity to know absolutely that there was one person who could never lie to him was a very powerful lure but then he realised that she might not feel the same as he did.  She had lived with the talent all of her life and, by her own admission, stifled it unless it was unavoidable.  Maybe it was to preserve her own privacy that she warned him away.   Andrew's caution surfaced in his thoughts and he wondered if his friend knew about this.   

Darien shook his head.  None of that mattered to him.  That he could read Bunny's thoughts was only because of an accident, not because she was his soulmate or any other nonsense.  Up until two days ago he couldn't even stand her.  They were allies and she'd just revealed an ability that might be very useful to them.  No more, no less.

"Is there anyway we can use your telepathy in battle?" he asked, all business, "An untraceable system of communications would be a great advantage."

She shook her head and became professional in turn.  "No, as I said touch is required between non-telepaths unless I'm very familiar with them.  It takes years to get the trust and friendship we'd need for that kind of closeness and I'm not willing to do it the other way."

"Why not?" he demanded, "If it can help-"

She interrupted him swiftly and sharply, "Well personally my sexual preferences don't include the scouts and even if I wanted to sleep with you I wouldn't.  Our problem is getting away from each other, we do not need to get closer.  Besides," she added after a brief pause, "Sex is a very serious thing for me-"

"Sex?" he blurted in shock.  Bunny was only fourteen and yet she was talking about it in relation to herself with more composure than most adults he knew.  He had never even considered her in that way and he was uncomfortable to realise that he wasn't disgusted by the thought.  She was fourteen!

"Of course!" she replied easily, "What did you think I was talking ab...  You didn't think!"  He flushed under her gaze and his face became even hotter when she started to grin.  "Why Darien, don't tell me you're a prude!"  She started to laugh.  "I can just see it; you're modestly holding a white sheet around yourself while a lean, mean college babe is trying to rip it off and have her way with you!  Or blushing bashfully when a super model says what a hot butt you've got!  Speaker forbid that anyone be so improper as to tell a raunchy joke in your hearing!"

Darien quashed the sudden urge to demonstrate, effectively and conclusively, just how improper or raunchy he could be in the right circumstances.  He berated himself mentally, she was a child, even if her laughter was that of a woman with some delightfully wicked thoughts.  It was definitely time to get back to business... and perhaps a change of subject was in order as well, it looked as if telepathy was impractical anyway.

"All right Meatball Head, if you've finished laughing at my expense-"

"No."

"Gods, you're worse than Andrew!"

She grinned at him as she tried to settle down.  "He has the right idea.  You need a girlfriend to help loosen you up-"

"Enough Meatball Head!" he growled and she winked at him, unrepentant.  "We have limited time, remember?"

"We still have to wait for the others before we can start planning," she responded but sobered up anyway.

"That gives us some time to talk about Rini," he told her, "Specifically the visions I have when I touch her."

"Oh?" Her voice was curious but the way she held herself told him that she was listening alertly and he had the impression that she was ready to leap to Rini's defence.  He remembered that she'd been holding the girl's hand when he'd questioned her.  It hadn't meant anything before but in the light of their recent conversation and experiences it held a lot of significance.

"I assume you saw what I did."

"I wasn't touching you," she replied cautiously.

"No but you were Rini and she passed it along.

"You're so sure."

"Yes."  He was positive.  Just as he was positive that she would understand the visions better than Raye ever could.  "You saw."  He took her silence as a confession.  "I saw three different things before I was in a black place where you appeared.  I touched you and then I was bombarded with new ones.  I've seen the first three before when I've touched Rini, just never so detailed.  After that it was all new.  Do you have any idea what it means?"

Bunny sighed and ran her fingers through her fringe.  "All right, we still have some time," she said in capitulation, "The first three scenes were of the future.  I have no idea when but definitely the future.  The first was self-explanatory, you saw the construction of a city that will be important in years to come.  Maybe it's where you'll one day live.  The second vision isn't so easy.  It shows beings that aren't human living with humans, that does tell you that there will come a time when a flying saucer or something will come with peaceful intentions."

"That's reassuring," he muttered.

She ignored him and continued.  "I only saw what you did and you were so awed by the beauty of the woman in the third vision that you didn't see what she looked like." She rolled her eyes at him.  "Anyway, the crystal struck me as a shield like she needed protecting from something but what I felt from her gave me the impression that she was very powerful.  I would infer that she's doing something very big and dangerous but also very important.  She can't spare the energy to protect herself, thus the shield, but it has to be done."

"Makes sense," he agreed.

"The next part was you losing yourself in the vision and me stupidly trying to pull you out of it."  She frowned at him.  She must have seen his look of total bafflement because she elaborated.  "I deliberately went into your mind to pull you out of the vision and instead of coming out you switched your focus from Rini to me and triggered the next set of pictures."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh!" she snapped and frowned at him.  "OK, I only saw the first of the next lot.  You totally lost control after that and I removed myself as a factor and let you come out of it on your own.  What I did see was the past, my past to be precise.  You saw my mother and my twin brother with me centuries ago."

For a moment he was silent.  He almost felt as if he had stolen something sacred but he didn't believe she was angry with him.  Instead he got the impression that it made her respect him more and he restrained himself from attempting to touch her to find out.  Another thought crossed his mind and he hid his excitement before he looked at her again.  "You all had tattoos on your foreheads," he said with only a touch of curiosity, "Do you think it has anything to do with the woman in the crystal?"

She bit her lip and Darien knew that he was on to something important.  "The crescent is a symbol of Selene," she answered slowly, obviously picking her words carefully.  "She was my family's patron goddess and the... tattoos were to show that."

The symbols weren't tattoos then, mage marks perhaps.

"We weren't the only ones so marked.  Maybe the woman you saw serves Selene also."

Or maybe it was Bunny in the future, but he didn't speak that thought.

"So what did you see after I left?"  Her voice was very casual but he caught her keen interest, so she didn't know what he saw next.

"Nothing much," he answered vaguely, "I think I saw Metallia attacking-"

"Past."

He nodded.  "And two silver lights appear watched by a white star."  She frowned but remained silent.  "I saw ten people being reborn, myself and the scouts being five of them I think.  I saw one of the silver lights joining us and a gold light appearing to help the silver save us."  Her eyebrows rose in shock.  "Do you have anything to say about it?" he asked and she shook her head numbly.    "What if I told you that I then saw the silver light attacked by seven spears of chaos?  Or that the gold light will meet the silver light again?  Or that the silver light will become a white star?  Do you have anything to say now?"

Bunny's eyes were wide and a myriad of emotions were displayed in them.  Fear, horror and understanding chief amongst them.  Darien rose to his feet easily and stalked over to her.  He crouched down in front of her and placed a hand, against the wall, on either side of her head.  He leaned so closed that he could feel the warmth of her skin but there was an infinitesimal space between their skin and his breath blew into her ear as he whispered.  "I know you're not one of the ten souls I saw reborn, I know you're more powerful than the other silver light that is, even now, on Earth as well."  Her breath hissed out in a gasp of shock but he carried on.  "And I know that I can trust you to help me save my planet."  He pulled back so that she could read the truth in his eyes.  "I also know that you helped Rini lie to me and that you are keeping a lot of things from me... and the scouts."  He almost forgot about the girls who fought beside him.  "I don't know who you are, Bunny Tsukino, but trust me when I say I will find out.  It might take awhile but I will learn the truth."

She stared at him in total shock but he saw no confusion in her gaze and that confirmed his suspicions.  She knew exactly what he was talking about and everything he said had been true.  He started to pull away, remembered something else she'd said to him and was seized with a sudden, wild impulse.  

"One last thing Meatball Head..." Before she knew what he was about, Darien leaned forward and pressed his mouth to Bunny's, hard.  He forced her lips apart as her dumbfounded amazement echoed in his head.  He leaned his weight onto his left hand and his right quickly found its way under her shirt and into her bra.  He broke off the kiss and grinned at her gaping face.

His voice low and intimate, he whispered, "I am in no way a prude!"  With that he tweaked her nipple and pulled away before her rising indignation found its way into action. 

He swaggered to the door of the room, savouring the fury that had followed his taunt.  She was right when she said that each time they touched the link between them grew stronger but it had been worth it.  For the first time it had been him in control and he had enjoyed every moment.  It was only when he reached the door that he allowed himself to turn back for a final glimpse of her reaction.  She was crouching, one arm pulled the hem of her shirt down while the other pressed the collar closer to her chest.  Her cheeks were red, whether from embarrassment or anger he couldn't be sure but he fancied it was both.  Her eyes were hard as flint and he was glad that he wasn't within her reach at that moment.

"Better get some rest Meatball Head," he told her and smiled cockily.  She ground her teeth and his smile widened.  "I'll send someone to wake you when you're needed," he informed her and shut the door in time to avoid a thrown shoe.

He whistled cheerfully as he made his way back to the scouts.  He would never be able to do anything like that again now that she was wary to him.  She would probably never let him get within five metres of her but it had been fun.  It had been glorious to finally get some of his own back and he had to admit it had relieved his tension level drastically.  In fact he had finally realised just how much fun their arguments could have been if he had gone into them with the right frame of mind.  Their truce was probably history by now but Darien didn't give a damn.  He decided that he'd take a leaf out of Bunny's book.  He was going to annoy her until she gave him what he wanted... and then, well then he would see.

***

_He was grinning at her smugly and she felt a very strong desire to wipe the smile of his face forcefully.  Instead she restrained herself and moved forward in two quick steps.  She rubbed her naked body against his and lightly nipped at his shoulder.  His hands came around to encircle her and she slipped between them with ease.  With a light-hearted giggle she danced away.  That would teach him to mess with her!_

_ He followed her stubbornly and she spread her wings and, with a little skip, took to the air.  She felt him staring after her but ignored it as she wheeled in Jupiter's storms.  A bolt of lightning struck her outreached hand and with a thought she conducted it through her skin to emerge from her wingtips in a scatter of sparks.  A storm dance was her favourite form of exercise on the giant world and if it teased her lover to see her daring the violent clouds, so much the better.  Still, she missed his warmth at her side and his strong presence.  Abruptly she realised how lonely she was without him, how she only felt whole with him near her._

_ A soothing gentleness eased away her distress even as it formed and she felt the mind of her dark haired paramour lightly touching her own.  Lightning flashed around her and thunder resounded but she danced in perfect harmony with the tempest.  His essence was there with her and, even as his mind had reached out to hers, his soul touched her own and-_

***

"Bunny, wake up," Mina said insistently as she shook the blonde's shoulder.  Bunny opened her eyes with a start and, in a movement that slightly shocked Mina, rolled to her feet in a split second.  "Wow," Mina said in admiration, "You're fast!"

Bunny blinked the residue of sleep out of her eyes.  "Is it time?"

Mina nodded.  "Amy and Raye found a way for us to get there and we have a good idea of what to expect.  Something to do with exocytosis, Amy said... who knows.  We've got a vague plan of action but Darien ordered us to leave you to sleep."

At the reminder of the man she was still angry at Bunny scowled until she caught herself.  Once she realised she was sulking she was able to stop it and she even saw the funny side of her reaction.  Of course his actions demanded some kind of vengeance, after all she had never presumed so much on him when she was deliberately provoking him but she wouldn't kill him... at least not yet.

She followed after the scout leader in a more cheerful mood, already pondering the next step in the game she and Darien played.  It was going to be a lot more fun now that he was aware that he was playing.


	9. Chapter eight

The Law Keeper - Chapter eight

First in the Book of the Renewal

By Draegyn

Dragynne2000@yahoo.com.au

The stars were barely visible through the shield and soon even that faint light would be eclipsed by the light of day.  A rosy glow had just formed on the horizon and heralded what would be a beautiful day... if it weren't the last.  It was almost impossible to tell that forces beyond its comprehension had besieged the entire planet.  Humans tried to explain the phenomena in various ways ranging from scientific hypotheses that were incomprehensible to all but the theorists to superstitious doomsday prophecies.  Many held elements of truth but none told the entire story.

"-He'll probably be in the same condition I was when I woke up, just do for him what Darien did for me.  When he's aware again, do what he says and he'll get everything sorted out if I don't come back.  Take care of the Spore for me and don't worry Prisma, I'll make sure Sapphire survives.  By the Divine Stars I so swear.  Just make sure that I don't have to worry about Rini."

Darien listened shamelessly to Bunny's last minute instructions to Prisma.  He was very curious about the mysterious 'he' that the teen kept referring to but he didn't dare ask her.  He knew that she had some violence planned for him and he was praying that she wouldn't embarrass him too severely.  Of course when he reconsidered what he'd done to anger her he wasn't at all confident that she wouldn't.  It wasn't that he regretted either the kiss or his... caress but her age had given his conscience a few twinges.  Or at least it did until Mina had brought her in for the final stages of planning.  The minute she'd stepped into the room she'd looked for him and grinned at him as she drew a finger across her throat.  He'd received the message loud and clear, the game was on and she wasn't playing to lose.

Neither of them let it affect their duties.  They were both too experienced to lose focus at such an important juncture.  Which was why Darien eavesdropped on the blonde rather than pursue her secrets as he'd sworn.  He cheered himself with the thought that he might have lost one opportunity but there would be more.  It was almost as if she wanted him to know... or she had something up her sleeve.  Darien watched Prisma nod and then join her sisters as they teleported themselves and Rini to Bunny's mysterious friend.

"Is everyone ready?" Mina asked with a pointed look at Bunny.  

"They'll be fine," she assured her.

Mina nodded.  "Right, we do not split up here.  Our goal is Diamond, once we have him we can control the rest.  We want this to be clean, Sapphire especially is not to be harmed-"

"We know Mina," Darien said gently.  

The blonde nodded and rolled the tension out of her shoulders.  "OK scouts transform."

Darien paid no attention to the familiar whirl of energies around the four original scouts, it was Bunny's change which intrigued him.  He had seen it once before but this time he deliberately watched her appearance in the brief glow.  When the light show had ended and Sailor Moon stood Darien became Tuxedo Mask without a word.  He was sure of what he'd seen now but he didn't know what to do with the information.  How did the fact that Bunny looked like an angel as she became Sailor Moon important?

Mercury had called up her computer and monitored a display.  "OK Moon, you'll need to use the same silver signature in your magic that you did with the shield spell."

"Moon, if you please?" he requested courteously but with a meaningful look.  He knew full well that she didn't need to be reminded to colour her magic silver, it was the natural appearance of her power and wasn't it a coincidence that his vision had shown a silver light with four of the reincarnates?  A silver light that was definitely more than human.

She nodded, ignoring his unspoken implications.  He felt the rush of power surround him and for the merest instant he saw the energy fields around them mould themselves according to her will.  A faint silvery bubble formed around them and then he and the other girls came into play.  Simple telekinesis, moving small objects, was one of the first things any mage learned to do and, although none of them were adept at the art, between the five of them they managed to lift the bubble into the air.  The first several minutes of flight was rough, each of the warriors jockeying for leverage, as often as not working against each other.  Despite the uneven forces at play Moon maintained the integrity of their little bubble with an ease Tux envied while he struggled to push them higher.

The reached the stratosphere and for a moment the warrior wondered if they would make it any higher.  The bubble bobbed precariously and he struggled to maintain his grip.  A cool calm descended on him and his rising panic faded.  He felt his psychic hold guided to a leverage slightly to the side of the bubble and he returned his attention to the real world in time to see Moon lightly touch Venus' neck with her gloved hand.  One by one she helped the other scouts position their spells far more efficiently and the bubble ascended smoothly.

Now that he was no longer fighting for control, Tux was able to pay more attention to his surroundings and examined the shield that they approached.  Only the faintest shimmer marked it to his physical sight, probably why none of the authorities had detected it, but he felt the weight of it on his mind.  It was an immense undertaking and Darien had to wonder at the power of its creator.  He glanced at Moon again and pondered the contradiction that, although she could cast such a massive spell, she was limited to two battle spells.

Then they had reached the shield and the walls of the bubble merged with the shield.  For an instant it was as if the shield spell at an air pocket in it but then they were through, with no damage done to the only protection Earth had from the Darkmoon.  Moon nodded at Mercury to indicate their passage was clear and the reborn Mercurian activated their teleportation device.  Nothingness engulfed them and then they were in darkness.

Jupiter created a ball of electricity and it illuminated the large chamber they had materialised in.

"Are we there?" Venus asked quietly as she looked around the shadowy space.  Mercury nodded absently but she was too involved in the scans her computer was performing to answer.  Tuxedo Mask felt as if he were weighted down in spirit and a quick glance showed that Mars felt the same way.  The young fire mage's face was pale to the point of transparency and she was leaning heavily on Moon.  A silver radiance flickered about the blonde's fingers for an instant and when it had faded Mars' colour had improved dramatically.

"Be careful, this place is saturated with dark energy, if you aren't on guard it'll suck the life right out of you," Moon warned grimly.

The scouts all nodded and Mars smiled gratefully at the shorter warrior.  Moon smiled to reassure the other girl.  "It preys on your empathy Mars, you have to be especially careful..." she trailed off and glanced at Tux.  "You too," she told him.

He nodded in acknowledgement.  He glanced about the chamber observantly.  "Mercury?"

"We're two levels up and one across from the throne room.  The core is four levels down from there and it appears to be unguarded.  Most of the life forms are gathered near the throne room... should we spilt up?"

"No," he answered quickly, "They have to know we're here and sooner or later we're going to be overrun with droids.  We'll work our way to the throne room as planned, once we have Diamond and his commanders under control then we won't have to worry about the droids."

"Just...  watch out for Wiseman, he's more than he seems," Moon cautioned them.  A glowing disc formed in her hand as she waited to be given the signal to move.  

Tux took point and she fell in at his side.  Mercury and Mars followed behind them on their left while Venus and Jupiter trailed a little further back on the right.  They left the massive chamber and entered a maze of corridors with Mercury providing directions in a whisper.

"How could they have managed in this mess?" Venus muttered, "They must have spent half their time walking and that's not counting if they got lost!"

Tux saw Moon flash a reassuring grin over her shoulder as she said, "These tunnels and corridors are probably only for droids and such.  The family probably all teleport to where ever they want to be."

"None of the sisters struck me as the athletic type," Jupiter added.

Moon stiffened and half a second later Tux felt something brush at the edge of his senses.  He stretched his mind and was able to recognise a disturbance in the energy fields, something that he could only faintly feel but would have been as clear as crystal to Moon.  He opened his mouth and snapped, "First wave!" at the same time Mercury's computer beeped a warning.  He was given barely enough time to reflect that a sensitivity to energy patterns would be a useful skill to develop before a horde of featureless droids descended on them.

It wasn't hard, as battles went, none of the enemy were particularly formidable, just numerous.  Tux unconsciously placed himself in front of Moon to give her cover to send out her deadly frisbees.  The background was crowded with the roar of thunder, the hiss of fire and the crack of Venus' lethal chain and it wasn't long before the droids were so many piles of dust.

"Why only your frisbees girl?" Jupiter asked Moon, "One of your blasts could have cleared this lot, easy!"

Moon opened her mouth to reply when understanding came to Tuxedo Mask.  "No focus," she explained with a shrug, heedless of his self-disgust.  "Sorry."  Without a word he extended his cane to her but she shook her head.  "No, you'll need it more than I will."

He was about to argue but something evasive in her eyes prevented him.  Instead he turned to the other scouts.  "We'd better get going, the longer we take the harder it'll be."

The started off again, once more separating into pairs and once more he was partnered with the mysterious blonde.  Even in the darkness, the only illumination a spark sustained by Jupiter and a small fireball floating over Mars, her hair gleamed bright gold and for the first time her appearance seemed odd to him.  She was small and delicate, blue eyed and blonde and should have been unremarkable yet she wasn't.  He had never examined her in shadowed conditions and now that he had the chance he could help but notice that she seemed to glow.  It was nothing that would be visible in the light of day yet he suspected that she could provide the group with enough light to see by on her own.  He filed the thought away with the rest of his puzzling knowledge of her and continued on through the eerie labyrinth.

***

_*Usagi!  USAGI!*_

_ *Toki, what?*_

_ *Usa, are you well?*_

_ *I won't be if you don't let me concentrate!*_

_ *Don't tell me that you really are on the Darkmoon!*_

_ *All right.*_

_ *So where are you?*_

_ *You told me not to tell you!  Fy braud make up your mind!*_

_ *Listen to me Serenity-*_

_ *Wait a sec Toki!*_

"You lot watch it!" she screamed as one of the scouts was struck down.  She ducked past Tuxedo Mask and waded into the melee.  Droids struck at her but even unarmed she was more than a match for them.  Indeed, her ability lay in physical combat as much as magical.  Each blow she struck hit its target with lethal force and she reached Venus' lax body before it was crushed beneath the battle. Droids were around them in the dozens but even that was preferable to the presence of the two youths barely older than the scouts with them.  One had dark skin and the other light but that was the only difference between the twinned boys.  

"We are Chiral and-"

"Achiral.  We serve the glorious Lady-"

"Emerald.  Cease your resistance of the-"

"Darkmoon and perish!"

Their droning voices grated on her ears but their words proved something that their appearance had already given her reason to suspect.  She looked to where Jupiter was desperately trying to subdue them without hurting them.  "Jupiter!" she yelled, her voice clear and calm over the din, "Don't worry about catching them, they're droids!"

The tall scout looked at her uncertainly.  "You're sure?" Moon saw her mouth, the words lost in the noise.  

Moon nodded and the brunette grinned in vicious pleasure.  Several seconds later several thousand volts of electricity arced to the two youths and a wave of bubbles.  Moon stopped watching, she already knew the outcome of the battle, especially if Mercury's water magic was added to the equation.  The Lunarian absently began the process of healing the blonde human as she re-established contact with her brother.

_*OK Toki, make it fast!*_

_ *Usa what are you doing?  You have no idea what you're doing up there.  Do you even have a plan?*_

Her derision flooded into his mind.  _*Plan?  Me?  You wish... me too come to think of it!  Honestly, no time so I had to put up with what this lot came up with when I went to sleep again.*_

_ *Again?*_

_ *Yeah, woke up, got fed, saved Frog-face's sanity and went back to sleep.  The day before yesterday really drained me.*_

_ *Ha ha.  What happened?*_

_ *Don't have time right now.  Was there anything vital that you needed to know?*_

_ *No...  Rini and the sisters woke me up but we let Reika sleep.*_

_ *Energy deprivation?*_

_ *Taken care of.*_

_ *Good, listen Toki, keep an eye on the shield please.  If it fails before we're finished Earth's dead, if stands for too long after we're finished then the reincarnates are.*_

_ *I'll keep watch... be careful Usa there is more than a small possibility that your unknown power is a Star of Darkness*_

_ *A Darkstar... I know and when I fight it the scouts are going to find out about me.*_

_ *That's what memory spells are for... or maybe...*_

_ *What?*_

_ *I might have an idea...*_

_ *Well go get it on your own, I'm busy here.*_

_ *All right.  Speaker bless thee sis, you'll need it.*_

_ *And you also, Toki no braud.*_

Her brother's mind disconnected from her, although a small part of his consciousness remained with her, and she turned her entire focus to Venus.  It took less than a minute to complete the healing once she put her mind to it and soon the scout was back in battle, none the worse for wear.  Moon rolled to her own feet to find that Tuxedo Mask had once more taken a position that had allowed him to guard her.

"Is she going to be OK?" he asked as Venus shot a thin force beam at a droid.

Moon nodded and sent a disc into a cluster of droids.  Each creature in its path was destroyed and the pair were given a relatively clear route to the edge of the fight.  She took it quickly, reluctant to allow the opportunity to pass, and he followed in her wake.  As soon as they were free of the conflict they were able to examine the situation clearly and decide on their next move.

"How did you know the two boys were droids?  Their energy patterns?"  His voice was eager but his curiosity did not stop him from sending roses to hurtle into battle where they would be most effective.  She looked at him sideways and blinked in astonishment.  She could feel his senses straining and knew that he was monitoring the energy fields, albeit faintly, but most definitely doing it.  He had been learning some knew tricks and obviously he wanted to hone the skill and was going to use her experience to help him.  Clever boy.

"Nope, their words," she answered honestly and his eyes darted to her in surprise before they returned to scanning the fight.  She sent another disc in to scatter the droids around Mars and elaborated, "They spoke in unison which won't happen naturally unless there's a telepathic link and the Darkmoon can't work up the kind of closeness I told you about because of the negative energy that's everywhere.  Also from what the sisters said about Emerald told me that she won't tolerate competition and that means we'll find none of her possible rivals serving her.  They couldn't be real if she was their commander like they said... I'd guess Sapphire made some better quality droids for her to order about."  

She saw the disbelief on his face.  "You knew all that just from what they said?" his voice was doubtful and it was obvious that he thought she was leading him on.

"Yep!"  She grinned at him and added helpfully, "There was too much interference in the energy fields for me to focus on them.  Between the null energy, negative energy, dark energy, anti-matter and dark matter in this place there's no way I can untangle a battlefield without falling into a trance.

He turned to her and said with honest respect, "So where do I learn that kind of logic?"

"Experience, my son," she replied pompously and then sobered.  "But honestly, I picked it up as I've gone along.  You've just got to think things through."

"I'll wager that you have more experience than you'd care to admit to," he retorted quietly and turned away before she could respond.

Privately and with a sense of weariness she admitted that he was more accurate than he would ever know.

An hour later found her in another corridor and another battle.  One of her pigtails partially fell over her shoulder and she flicked it back in impatience.  She was getting sick of the endless deluge of droids that kept coming at them.  She could borrow Tux's cane to facilitate their escape from this lot but that wouldn't stop the next wave and it would alert the being calling itself Wiseman to her.  What they needed was a way into the throne room that didn't involve battling hordes of droids.  For one thing it was monotonous, for another it was energy consuming and she had no doubt that she would need all her strength for the battle to come.

***

The dark haired warrior blew hair out of his eyes in exasperation.  His top hat had come off sometime in the last hour and ever since his unruly hair had taken every opportunity to annoy him.  He had a brief thought that Andrew might be right, at least if he had a girlfriend she'd make sure he had haircuts regularly.  Then again, with his luck he'd get a girl who preferred long hair on a man.  From the corner of his eye he saw Moon flick a long ponytail back over her shoulder and grimace and he couldn't blame her, the battle was becoming drawn out.

He glanced about and noticed Mercury freezing droids solid and Venus following in her wake and shattering them.  They were cutting quite a swathe through the mindless drones but it was to no purpose.  All that was happening was that they were destroying their enemies' toys while time was running out.  What they needed was a quick way into the throne room but how-

A hollow boom resounded over the beleaguered warriors and another figure appeared, floating midair above the battle.  Tux gaped as the newcomer's appearance became visible.  It was a pale face with pointed chin, dark blue hair falling into ocean blue eyes and a black crescent on a broad forehead.  In fact it was his face on a member of the Darkmoon family.  The sisters had described the remaining family members but none had mentioned that Sapphire could have been his twin bar the colour of his hair and the mark on his face.  

Tux watched as his double surveyed the scene and coolly directed the droids in battle.  Tux concentrated and sent a stream of power at the floating figure.  The enemy commander took the hit without flinching.  The Terran warrior contemplated the situation for a moment before he had a sudden idea.

"We surrender!"

Five females froze and looked at him in utter astonishment.  Sapphire frowned but directed the droids to desist.  "You have something to say human?" he asked, his voice emotionless except for a slight hint of scepticism."

Tux nodded.  "Yeah, we surrender."

"Are you mad?!" Mars shrieked in outrage.  Her face was almost as red as her skirt.

Behind her Jupiter was looking at him, confused.  Venus would follow his lead even though she was unsure.  Mercury's eyes were darting from him to Sapphire and back again as she tried to work out just what Tux had in mind.  A quick glance at Moon showed that she watched Sapphire warily and seemed to accept Tux's strange turnabout without raising an eyebrow.

Sapphire tilted his head to the side and floated gradually to the ground.  "My orders are to destroy you.  Surrender will not grant you a reprieve."

Tux thought quickly.  "We have information that could be useful."

"You know nothing that we can not discover on our own." Sapphire rebutted.

"How to get through the shield that's protecting Earth."  From the corner of his eye Tux saw Mars glare at him and Venus attempted to calm her down.

"We will do so on our own," Sapphire repeated.

"Where to find Rini."  Moon gave him a hard, quick look but said nothing.

"Without you the Rabbit cannot hide."  Sapphire looked at him and Tux grit his teeth at the pity in the other man's eyes.  "You have nothing we want."

"The Imperium Silver Crystal."  It was a desperate ploy.  He had no idea if those of the Darkmoon wanted the crystal or even knew of it and no intention of sacrificing it if they did but he needed something to bargain with.  He wasted no effort to look for the shock that he knew would be on the scouts' faces, instead he focused intently on the enemy.  Sapphire's eyes had narrowed and Tux knew that he had struck a nerve.  He smiled slightly and asked, "Sound interesting?"

Sapphire's face cleared and his eyes narrowed further in anger.  He raised a hand and Moon spoke before he did anything, good or bad.  "Don't you think that it would be better to consult your brother before you do anything rash?"

For the second time Tux saw emotion run across the man's face, this time blatant disbelief.  Without a word the blue haired man altered his movement from a probable attack to approach the blonde and tilt her chin up.  "You..." he muttered.

Tux looked to the girl herself for answers to the man's unexpected reaction and only saw genuine confusion as she jerked herself out of his reach.  He wished that she'd used her opportunity to grab Sapphire and try to heal him or, barring that, grab him and read his mind but her only concern seemed to be to get away from him.  Sapphire stared at her for a moment longer, wracked with indecision before he nodded and turned back to Tuxedo Mask.

"I have heard of the Imperium Silver Crystal, you might have something to offer after all.  I will take you before Prince Diamond and he will decide your fate."  The raven-haired fighter had the distinct impression that it was not offer of the crystal that had changed the commander's mind.  Sapphire gestured and the warriors of Earth found themselves encased in cages of dark energy.  Then the world spun and when it steadied again they were in an enormous chamber made of black marble.  The room was so large that there was more than enough space for more than a hundred people to stand, even with the gaping pit in the centre of the room.  They had been teleported into the throne room and been left there alone while Sapphire presumably went to fetch his brother.

As soon as the other man had left Tux looked at Moon.  "Why was he so interested in you?" he asked.

Venus glanced at him. "You saw that too?"

Mars rolled her eyes.  "Oh come on, up until he got a good look at her Sapphire was Mr. Ice.  It's almost like he thought she was a dream or something."

Mars' words tickled at Tux's memory only to be forgotten again as Moon spoke.  "I don't know.  I've never met him before, now or in the past."

"Another mystery, great!" Jupiter grumbled, disgusted.

"At least we're in the throne room," he consoled them and turned to Mercury.  "How do we get out of these things?"

"Why you ask nicely of course," a woman's patronising voice told him.  He looked up to see a woman with green hair and brown eyes examining them in contempt.

"Emerald," Venus concluded.

The woman smiled maliciously.  "It's so nice to know that my reputation precedes me."

"Notoriety is a two edged sword," the scout warned and laughter echoed through the room.

"She has you there my dear Emerald."  A white haired man had appeared on the throne.  He was dressed in a strange, yet elegant, white suit and his purple eyes burned as they latched onto Moon.

Tux forced himself to ignore his impulse to charge the man.  Firstly, he was trapped in a cage and, secondly, Moon didn't seem as affected by the man's regard as Tux was.  Indeed, it was almost like she was ignoring him in favour of something that no one else could see.  Not that it would surprise him if she were.

The man, the so-called Prince Diamond, also seemed to sense Moon's inattention and he frowned.  "Even now you deny me Serenity, even now when I hold you captive," he spoke to himself yet his words were heard throughout the chamber.

Tux glanced at Moon again.  Serenity?  Another piece of the mystery that was Sailor Moon for him to puzzle over.  Venus' eye met his by accident as she too looked at their strange blonde ally.  From her expression she had also caught the significance of Diamond's remark and had less idea than he of what it might mean.  Moon herself seemed to feel the weight of the many gazes directed towards her.  She blinked and noticed Diamond for the first time.

"So you're the idiot who's stirred all of this up?"

Tux winced. It wasn't the wisest thing she could have said before they'd managed to free themselves.

Diamond smiled wistfully.  "It appears that I will never be able to make a good impression on you Serenity."

His expression was such a strange mix of longing and resentment that Tux stepped forward to protect Sailor Moon unconsciously.  Unfortunately he forgot that he was imprisoned and the dark energy of the cage ran through him violently until he managed to fall away from the edge of his prison.  The crackle of the energies involved distracted everyone's attention for a moment and even dazed he saw the malicious smile the Darkmoon prince directed at him.  Despite the fact that he'd never seen the man before then, instinct warned Tux that Diamond held a very personal grudge against him.

Moon's attention was also on him and from the way she kept glancing from him to Diamond and back Tux would have bet that she'd noticed the prince's rancour as well.  She frowned slightly before she drew the white haired man's attention back to her.  "You might make a better impression if you weren't hell bent on conquering a world that I've sworn to defend."

Diamond sneered.  "Earth?  Oh, beautiful Serenity, don't fear for that ball of mud.  We'll rule it together, under your generous reign even humans could not complain."

"I thought he had a thing for Rini's mother," Venus whispered as she edged as close to Tux as their cages allowed.

Mercury had done the same.  "He has certainly recovered from his infatuation quickly."

"I know," Tux snarled and was shocked at the anger and possessiveness in his voice.

The scouts were as well.  Mars and Jupiter sidled closer and Jupiter whispered loudly, "Are you jealous?"

He forgot their situation in the sheer absurdity of both the question and his emotions.  "No!" he snapped at the brunette scout.  He had to get his head on straight.  It was neither the time nor the place to get all mushy over the Meatball Head.

She grinned at him.  "Oh, really?"  She managed to inject buckets of doubt into the two words.

Mars glared at the both of them.  "Back to the matter at hand here," she growled, "All right Tux, I suppose this was your plan to get us into the throne room.  Now what's your plan to get us out of these cages?"

Moon and Diamond were still conversing in what seemed to be a civilised manner but Tux wasn't the only one to hear the subtle scorn in his words.  His impatience was becoming almost a tangible thing, whatever he wanted from Moon she wasn't giving it to him.

"Any ideas Mercury?" he asked the young analyst.

The scout in blue frowned and started to recheck her computer but Tux's attention was caught by Moon once more.

***

"You're so sure that I'm this Serenity person you're on about?" she inquired calmly.

Diamond's smile was bitter.  "Of course I am.  I could never forget you my love.  Even if you hide your true appearance with the illusion of humanity your true power is obvious."

Illusion of humanity?  That was all she needed, her dark haired ally hearing from someone else what he'd barely begun to consider for himself.

She shrugged and straightened.  "So you know and that means it's no use even trying to keep it a secret anymore."  The dark energy cages around them disappeared with a mild thought, they didn't even challenge her enough to threaten her illusion.  She felt her friends as they stared at her in awe.  Tux had no doubt that it was her doing and the scouts' faces showed that they thought the same way.  The enemy showed a variety of reactions to her casual display of power, Sapphire was expressionless, Emerald spiteful and Diamond seemed to be pleased.  She almost wished that she could wipe the triumphant smirk of his face. 

She turned and quickly examined Tux and the scouts, nodding in satisfaction when she saw that they were unharmed.  She smiled when Tux unobtrusively signalled for the scouts to spread out.

"You will not allow me to see your true face?" Diamond's question was regretful and Moon could almost feel Tux satisfaction over the prince knowing that his was a hopeless cause

She met the purple eyes evenly.  "Not when I know that I might still have to kill you."

"You would, wouldn't you?" Diamond's voice was wounded and Tux growled at the man's presumption.

She answered simply, "I am the Guardian, a Law Keeper.  It is my duty."

Diamond's face darkened.  "But you're not a god and only they can stop me now!"

"Because a Darkstar stands behind you?" she asked and it was Sapphire who revealed the truth of her response.  He shifted guiltily and it reassured her in a small measure that he wasn't as dominated by his brother as she'd feared.  She smiled in pity.  "Is its support worth the price I wonder?"

"The power he offers me is worth any price," the poor fool responded.  Her pity for him grew, as did her anger.  He was dooming his entire family with his stubbornness.

"Yeah, right!" she snapped, tartly, "He offers you power and you give him your soul."  He opened his mouth but she gave him no chance to speak.  "Trust me when I say that, he has his claws so far into you it'll take major surgery to free you of them."  She stepped closer to the throne and tried to reason with him.  "Do you know that he's been messing with your mind?  That he's been brainwashing your entire family?  That every time you use some of the magic he offers you he gains more and more control of you?"  She held out her hands earnestly.  "I found the most insidious coercion spells in the sisters' minds.  Spells that could have destroyed them-"

She could have kicked herself for mentioning the sisters.  Their defection would not have been well received.  The prince's face darkened.  "It is far more likely that you are the one who has been casting spells," he growled, "If it wasn't for you then they would still be here with us... as would Rubius!"

She closed her eyes.  Rubius' death was something she would regret for the rest of her life yet he had given her no choice.  Just as Diamond had given him no choice.  "You dare," she snarled, "If it hadn't been for you then he wouldn't have been there.  If it hadn't been for you then this whole mess would never have happened!  It was you who ordered them to invade the Earth.  It was you who ordered them to attack an innocent child."  With every accusation she took a step closer.  Behind her the scouts had surrounded Emerald while Tux had circled around to approach the throne unobserved by the brothers.  "It was you who made them vulnerable to the Wiseman.  Speaker bless!  You can't even blame Wiseman for all the misery you have caused Sapphire.  Your brother was forced to sacrifice his _soul-mate_ to your ambition, to sublimate everything he was and could be to fulfil your desires!"

Diamond glanced at his brother and Sapphire resolutely met his eyes, revealing neither confirmation nor denial.  The white haired man frowned and shook his head in dismissal.

Moon covered the remaining distance between her and the prince and grabbed the front of his shirt.  She was petite and looked harmless but, illusion or no, she was more than capable of intimidation.  With a grunt she tore one of her gloves of with her teeth and spat it out before slapping her bare hand against the man's cheek.  "Diamond of the Darkmoon, you are not worthy of the loyalty they gave to you," her voice was a low hiss which she emphasised telepathically.  "They gave you their trust and you responded by enslaving them."  She crammed her recollections of the damage done to the sisters into his mind so forcibly that he had to stifle a cry of pain.  "You are their prince.  It is your duty to protect them yet you have forgotten this.  Instead you send them chasing your own ambitions and lusts!  Just look at the way you've had them chasing Rini so you could get at her mother!" 

Something flickered in his mind but a confusing miasma of darkness prevented her from discovering what it was.  She was given no opportunity to speak further.  He threw her from him with force enough to send her tumbling almost to the pit.

When she regained her senses he was standing before his throne, an expression of disdain on his face.  At his attack the scouts had immobilised Emerald and the enchanted chain that served as Venus' main weapon had bound the green haired woman.  Tux had not fared as well.  Her fall had angered him so that he had ignored Sapphire and gone straight for the prince with less success than he would have had otherwise.  His blue haired doppelganger had intercepted his charge and as Moon regained her feet the pair circled each other warily.  Diamond sneered at her.  

"My precious Serenity, you are very beautiful but obviously very young at this time and so have no comprehension of what is really happening.  These pitiful humans will die and then I will conquer their planet.  Once I have done so you will bow down before my power and acknowledge me as your master."

"Over my dead body," Tuxedo Mask bellowed and Diamond turned to him.  A gesture ordered Sapphire to retreat and the white haired man slowly walked towards the furious human.  Moon felt a chill of dread run through her at the vicious smile on Diamond's face and struggled to get back to her feet.

"Poor little mortal," Diamond mocked, "You have no idea of what I am or even what your friend is.  How could you possibly think that you can oppose us successfully?"  

Tux growled and hurled a rose at the white haired prince.  Diamond merely stepped aside and the rose passed by him, harmlessly.  Even as he moved he met Terran warrior's eyes and the black crescent on his forehead changed into a glowing third eye.   Tux froze and she could see the strain on his face as he fought for control of his body.

Diamond's smug smile grew and he casually ordered Sapphire, "Brother would you please restrain my future bride.  I do not wish her to harm herself."

"As you wish brother."  Sapphire bowed and turned to her.

Moon glanced from one warrior to another.  Three scouts were moving to aid their friend but there was nothing that they would be able to do against Diamond.  Her brief foray into his mind had shown her that he was an alpha level, not even Tuxedo Mask would be able to beat him.  She opened her mouth to tell them to concentrate on Sapphire when the aura of evil that pervaded the entire moon suddenly intensified.  She gasped, as did Mars and Tux, and Sapphire used her distraction to grasp her wrists.  Overhead a dark shape formed to reveal a faceless being completely concealed by its cloak and cowl but Moon needed no physical features to recognise it.  It was the same being who's power had corrupted not just the Darkmoon family but the Darkmoon itself. 

She twisted in Sapphire's hold.  The contact brought his mind close to hers and for the second time she sensed the cool strength of a man whose devotion to his brother had caused him to deny the woman who had bonded to his soul.  The utter loyalty she sensed in him gave her hope.  "Let me go, please Sapphire!"

He looked at her in pity and shook his head.  "I am sorry Serenity but I will not go against my brother.  Not even for one such as you."

"But he's mad, else why would he have brought you on such a ruinous path?"

"Ruin?" His voice was scornful but she sensed the reluctant agreement hidden deep within his mind.  "It is not us who will be ruined.  Diamond will triumph and open Earth to the Darkmoon.  There is nothing you can do or you would have done it already."

It was her turn to look at him in pity as she said, "You have no idea of what I can do.  I am only holding back because of a promise I made to Prisma to bring you back to her alive."  His eyes widened and she allowed some of her illusion to fade.  "I would prefer not to destroy a soul-mated couple but I will if you force me... just as I will destroy your brother if I am not given another option," she told him candidly.

"I-" he started but was never given the chance to finish.  Wiseman's attack took both of them by surprise.  The last thing Sailor Moon saw as she and Sapphire were blasted into the pit was identical expressions of shock and loss on the faces of both Diamond and Tuxedo Mask.

***

_"I won't share you with anyone," he whispered to her ardently and held her even closer to him.  She did not protest as he plastered his naked length against hers, the winds of Jupiter beating against them both.  _

_ She wasn't sure if she was flattered at his intensity or angered by his possessiveness.  "You're jealous."_

_ He kissed her deeply and she felt her lips bruise at the force of it.  "You are mine, for now and for all eternity," he informed her, almost violently, "You will not ever leave me.  Do you hear?"  She nodded, made speechless by his insistence.  His lips forced hers open once more and she started to melt against him.  He pulled away before all of her powers of reasoning had quite deserted her and demanded, "Never, now promise me!"  She hesitated and he frowned ferociously, his eyes snapping with power.  "Promise me!"_

_ She opened her mouth-_

***

"I promise," she whispered as she regained consciousness.  Air rushed past her as she plunged deeper into the heart of the Darkmoon.  She felt the dark energy thicken around her and surmised that the pit led into the core generator that powered the entire moon.  Barely a metre away from her Sapphire also fell, still unconscious from Wiseman's blast.  His face was bloodless from both injury and the increasing proximity to a source of power that shouldn't exist in this universe.  A source of power that would kill any living creature of this universe that approached it.  Its strength was the antithesis to her own and the further she fell the weaker she became.

Prisma's and Diamond's joined Sapphire's pale face in her memory.  One filled with hope, the other with loss.  "I promised," she murmured and then screamed, "I PROMISED!"    

Precious Lady Princess Serenity, daughter and Law Keeper of Selene gave a powerful beat of her wings and her descent ceased.  A disproportionately strong hand grasped the still falling Sapphire and the angelic Lunarian smiled in anticipation as she began her ascent.  There was no more need to hide.  It was time to for the real battle to begin.


	10. Chapter nine

The Law Keeper - Chapter nine

First in the Book of the Renewal

By Draegyn

Dragynne2000@yahoo.com.au

            His entire body felt like it was encased in syrup.  Every movement was ponderous and it was only his overwhelming fury that allowed him to move at all.  Tuxedo Mask struck out at the wretch who had restrained him while Sailor Moon had been blasted into what seemed to be a bottomless pit.  His fist connected and Diamond's head whipped to the side but the spell on Tux was still too strong to allow him to do any damage.  The pale face of the prince turned back to Tux with a snarl and soon Tux was left to rage at his helplessness as the spell overcame him.

            The... the pox rotted... demon spawned...  pasty-faced...  son of a goblin!  How dare he?!  How dare he, how dare any of them, harm one hair on his Meatball Head's head!  How dare they threaten her?  He felt an angry force building in him the likes of which had not been seen since the gods last walked the Earth.  Through the pounding in his ears he only distantly heard Diamond shouting at the thing that had killed Sailor Moon.

            "How dare you Wiseman!  She was mine!"

            "My Prince, you know well that Serenity is too dangerous, even now, to risk half measures.  By her own mouth, she condemned herself when she refused your generous offer not once but many times.  The rabbit's mother is obstinate beyond compare.  She would never have seen reason and not even her daughter's life would have bought compliance.  At least in this time she was both weak and ignorant enough to destroy easily.  I thought only to serve, my prince."  The words came smoothly from the shadows within the cowl, the tone oily and ingratiating.  

            "It was not your choice to make!  Not only were you insubordinate you were careless!  Your ill judged attack cost me my brother as well as my bride!"

            "I realise that my prince, yet the opportunity was there, one that may not have come again.  She was unprepared and it is unlikely that we would ever have caught her so again.  The loss of your brother is minor in comparison to the removal of the prime obstruction to our objectives."  The creature's voice was obsequious but if he had been listening closer Tux would have discerned the undercurrent of contempt in it.  Even the meaning of the creature's words did not penetrate the formally clad warrior's mind, clouded as it was by a madness born of rage.

            Diamond's voice hinted at similar emotions, mastered less effectively and he did hear the less than perfect submission in his supposed servant's voice.  "Wiseman, you are getting above yourself.  I am the one who determines our objectives, not you.  And I have made my will in regards to Serenity very clear; she is mine!  You have stolen her from me and, worse, taken my most capable commander as well.   Not even you are worth the loss of both.  You obey me!  You do not do anything without my permission first-"

            All traces of subservience disappeared from the Wiseman's voice and its volume grew to fill the entire chamber.  "Petty little Prince!  You presume to command me?  I am the servant of Kaos you mortal worm.  You are nothing in comparison to me, you are merely a pawn for me to play with as I please!"

            The spell on Tux wavered as its caster's focus scattered.  The inarticulate fury that had controlled him had turned to an icy calm.  His iron control was absolute and he watched coldly as Diamond was more and more distracted by the revelation that circumstances were somewhat different than what he had believed.

            "You serve me!" the white haired prince railed, "I command you, not the other way around.  You serve me Wiseman!"

            "The Doom Phantom, servant of a mortal?!  Never!  My true master is a being that you will never even begin to comprehend.  And all beings of this universe are his enemies!"  A truly gut wrenching cackle burst from Wiseman.  "How does it feel, little mortal, knowing that you have betrayed your gods, broken the laws of Selene and Chronos and endangered the Heart of your Universe himself?  How does it feel to know that you have doomed every living creature in your universe?  You have given me the opportunity to prevent the Renewal.  Because of you I was able to kill the Speaker's heir!"  The creature gloated over the top of them, the atmosphere growing heavier and heavier with its evil.

            Its words were so much gibberish to the scouts but Tux was able to discern some meaning, knowing that he didn't quite grasp the true import of what they were being told.  He wasn't quite sure of the scale of the disaster but fragments of dreaming memory returned and told him that Sailor Moon's death was a tragedy for more than the Earth.  All the clues he had seen and not comprehended over the past week suddenly connected and he understood.  A glance at Diamond's pale face showed that he too had finally realised the magnitude of his error but, instead of remorse it was an expression of utter madness which settled over the features of the Darkmoon leader.

            That the white haired man showed no desire to redeem himself for numerous gross errors in judgment that now endangered everything that Tux cared about infuriated him and he was no longer barred from acting.  Diamond's instability had weakened the stability of the spell that paralysed Tux and the Terran warrior, in his anger, was more than capable of breaking it and killing the distracted royal.  At that moment Tuxedo Mask could have killed the prince, for he had both will and opportunity, yet he did not.  A sudden up welling of silver power in the deepest depths of his mind heralded the return of someone he had not the heart to hope had survived and he forgot all about the megalomaniacal prince.  

            With a silent cry of joy he forgot the limitations of his power and reached for the mind of the one he knew as Sailor Moon.  For a moment not for all of his striving could he overcome the barrier of even a minor distance between them but her strength was no longer constrained and her gentle thoughts brushed against his in reassurance.  In the brief joining came a plea that he refused adamantly.  However, stubborn as he could be, his relief at her return was such that he could deny her nothing.  Not even if it meant that he would be called upon to save Diamond's life.

            He felt her presence approaching with speed and with a thought he broke the spell restraining him and dived at Diamond.  The prince was surprised and fell beneath him.  No sooner did both men hit the floor than a bolt of silver lightning flashed over the top of them and into the floating being.  The lightning crackled around Wiseman and contained it as the dark energy traps had caged Tux and the scouts only a short time before.  Diamond looked at Tux with startled eyes yet Tux's own blue gaze was colder than ice.  Roughly the warrior pushed the prince away from the floating figure until both were able to get to their feet without too much danger.  Diamond's third eye started to glow but Tux ignored it in favour of the shining warrior of light rising out of the pit.

            Emerald had stopped struggling against her bonds and that was a good thing because all of the scouts were hypnotised by the sight of Sailor Moon's return and Tux could not blame them.  For it was not the slight human warrior dressed in the short-skirted sailor suit that the scouts wore who hovered over the gaping pit.  Instead it was a magnificent woman in silver armour, a sword belted at her side, and an unconscious man cradled in her arms.  She was most definitely not human, her features too fine, the hue of her skin subtly alien and her wings a blinding white.  Yet familiar silver-gold pigtails fell to her ankles from twin buns and brilliant sapphire blue eyes shone under a glittering, golden crescent moon insignia.  

            The power that he had only caught glimpses of before was now plainly revealed.  Intelligence, heart and spirit were no longer disguised.  Silver blood pulsed through veins that had evolved to carry magic.  She was Bunny Tsukino yet she was more.  Not human, not reincarnate, not of Earth at all.  She was Serenity.

***

            Her role as Sailor Moon had been shucked as if it was an outgrown skin and in some ways it was.  On Earth she had concealed not only her race and power but also much of her true personality.  Bunny had been as much an act as Sailor Moon was, a name and face which had allowed her to escape her responsibilities for a short time.  Now it was time to resume her duties as her mother's Law Keeper and so she donned the guise of Serenity once more.  

            With a strong and sure beat of her wings, Serenity lifted both herself and her burden out of the pit and past the struggling Darkstar to where the scouts stood, transfixed.  Carefully she laid Sapphire by Emerald's side and the woman's brown eyes watched her in terror.  When the man had been arranged suitably, Serenity caressed Emerald's cheek and spared a precious moment to provide her with reassurance.

            "You need not fear me," she soothed and a delicate mental probe quickly contained the coercions in Emerald's mind.  She did not have the luxury of time to properly heal the woman but she could and did install a temporary measure to control the damage.  Emerald relaxed slightly and Serenity quickly freed her of Venus' enchanted chain.  

            "What the hell do you think you're up to?  Do you have any idea how hard it was for us to get her tied up like that?"  Mars shook herself out of her stupor to protest bitterly but the Lunarian wasted no time to hear her.

            Instead she helped the woman sit up and addressed her quickly, "I assume that I will become known to thee of the Darkmoon in thine own time."

            "You may so assume," Emerald replied, rubbing her arms to restore circulation.  "You are-"

            Serenity placed a finger hastily on the other woman's lips.  "Nay, I would have it that I not be exposed further to what may come.  I only inquired to be certain that you are aware of my origins."  

            Emerald nodded and Serenity removed her finger.  A quick glance at where the Darkstar still struggled reassured her that the containment spell was still holding.  The scouts were watching the interaction between the two women in bewilderment and Serenity motioned for Mercury to inspect Sapphire for she had not had the opportunity to do so herself.

            "You were one of Selene's guardians, specifically her Law Keeper but you are probably only involved in this because you are allied to Chronos' Law Keeper," Emerald said when she saw that she had Serenity's attention once more.  "In this time you're from a small hold fast which is known as the Silver Keep on Earth's moon.  You are the princess of the Lunarians, though your twin is your mother's heir.  You are the daughter of two Divine Stars, Selene and-"

            "That is enough," Serenity said quickly and frowned.  

            The Darkmoon family knew more about her than she was comfortable with and Emerald had said far more within the hearing of the attentive scouts than she could have wished.  The scouts all waited for her to confirm or deny Emerald's words and even though all would be able to accept it if what they had heard were true still it was not something they were prepared to believe easily. She avoided the human teen's questioning gazes and accidentally met Tuxedo Mask's instead.  He had approached her unnoticed and was now staring at her in mingled triumph and anger.  She dismissed his anger, she had done what she had to fulfil her duty, but she pitied him in his triumph.  He now knew far too much and, if they survived, she would be compelled to moderate the danger he now posed to his own planet.  

            She sighed heavily.  The only good thing about her current carelessness was that she now knew that Tranquillity was their mother's heir.  She had more than enough trouble being a Law Keeper let alone a Law Maker.  Her brother was the one Council-bound and that would eventually leave her free to pursue her own ends.

            A sudden, thunderous crack reverberated throughout the chamber and her head jerked up.  On instinct alone she threw a hasty shield around the gathered souls and no sooner had she done so than a massive surge of energy impacted against it.  She grunted in effort and the shield held but it was with horror that she realised that Diamond was not in the gathered group.  A quick search found him watching her with glittering purple eyes and an unreadable smile.  Her heart fell, his mind had snapped under the pressure of Wiseman's spells and the Heart only knew what he would do next.

            "Emerald!" she snapped and the woman jumped to her feet quickly.  "Go to the Silver Keep," Serenity panted, the effort of repelling the Darkstar's power quickly tiring her.  "Tell... tell my mother what has happened.  Tell her I need Luna and Artemis.  Get her to warn my brother... GO!"

            Emerald opened her mouth to argue, thought the better of it then vanished.  Serenity sighed in relief, she would have help soon enough.  Now to keep the reincarnates alive long enough for them to be rescued.  The power against her increased and she slid backwards over the marble at the force of it.  Tux and Jupiter tried to support her physically; helpless as they were to even understand the arcane battle she fought.

            "Well Meatball Head, a goddess, I'm impressed."  Tux forced levity into his voice and she grimaced in response.

            "I...  Am...  Not... A... Goddess!" she grunted as emphatically as she could.

            She felt his gaze as it swept her from head to wingtip and the scepticism was plain in his voice.  "Riiigghhht!"

            Irritation lent her another measure of strength that she channelled into her shield.  "I am not!" she growled, "My mother is, my father is and, apparently, my brother will be but I am not.  I'm a guardian, a servant, a lesser power if you will.  As Emerald said, I am the guardian my mother chose to be her Law Keeper.  And, before you ask, I am not going into it any further."  She glanced at Mercury who was staring at her near Sapphire.  "Well Blue?" she prodded, "Is he going to be up anytime soon?"

            Mercury started, blinked and shook her head.  "No, his injuries are too severe and the healing process is being hindered by antimatter residue."

            She swore silently, she had hoped he would be able to teleport some of the reincarnates away.  She was not up to fighting Wiseman on her own.  He was not only a god but she was too young to have built up enough power to even irritate him.  The best she could do was delay him until her mother could deal with him and she didn't know if she could do even that.  Abruptly the twisted power that beat against her defence eased up but at the same time a crystalline black magic initiated its own attack.

            "Diamond's gone completely whack," Jupiter reported and Serenity looked up to find the prince attacking both parties indiscriminately.

            "He's going to get himself killed!" she exclaimed.

            Tux replied with grim satisfaction, "Good!"

            She looked at him in disgust but he was unrepentant.  "We have to save him," she insisted with as much force as she could muster, beset as she was.

            "Why?" Jupiter asked callously but Serenity's eyes did not leave Tux's.

            Brilliant sapphire blue clashed with bottomless ocean blue in a war of wills.  She deliberately invaded his mind, for once all of her shields absent, and let him remember.

            _*You cannot hurt when you have the opportunity to heal.*_ His mindvoice was deep and irritated but the mind behind it surrendered to her wish.  _*Just give me a chance and I'll do what I can.*_

_            *Thank you.*_

            "Jupiter," she said quickly as she gathered what remained of her strength.  "You and the other scouts make a shield over Sapphire.  Each of you do a layer and as one breaks you make a new one under the others, that means your shield'll keep renewing itself as long as you have energy.  While Tux goes for Diamond, I'll draw Wiseman away and see if you can get out of here."

            A deep pulse of alarm rushed into her from the man but she stepped away from both humans before they could argue.  She sent her gathered power at Wiseman in a massive blow and then dropped the shield while it recoiled.  In a smooth motion she drew her silver sword and took to the air.  It was time to attack and trust that the reincarnates could take care of themselves.

***

            Tux snarled a curse as Serenity flew away from him before he could warn her that she was what the so-called 'Doom Phantom' was after.  He whirled on Jupiter and snapped, "Do as she says until I can get back with that albino toad!"  With that he turned to approach Diamond.  Serenity's sudden departure had thrown the prince off balance and Tux used his distraction to unsheathe the rapier hidden in his cane.  Before Diamond had recovered the tip of the steel blade was at his throat.  Tux watched him emotionlessly.  Promise or no promise, he could and would kill the other man without a regret.

            "You won't kill me," Diamond sneered, ignorant of the thoughts in the dark haired man's mind.

            "So sure?" Tux replied calmly and the vision of his sword passing through the other man's throat was dangerously attractive.

            "Of course," the prince replied and smiled maliciously.  "You see, you cannot do anything that I don't want you to."  The black crescent on his forehead was once more replaced by the deadly third eye but this time Tux paid no attention to the spell it cast.  He had fallen into the man's control once before and would not do so again.  It was not a matter of power, he knew that Diamond held more than he did, but a matter of will and that was something that he had in plenty.  He was Endymion, prince of no meagre moon but an entire planet and had faced politics that would make Diamond shudder.  He was Tuxedo Mask, defender of Earth and the destroyer of a demon.  He was Darien, a human man who had groped a goddess and survived unscathed.

            With a vicious smile of his own Tux let his sword draw blood and Diamond's eyes widened in panic.  His third eye glared with more desperation but it was in vain.  Tuxedo Mask had felt all manner of mind control in his short span and knew perfectly well how to counter it.  The spell washed over him to little effect and the warrior relished the apprehension that now dominated the prince's face.

            "Is that all you can do?" he mocked and casually caught the wrist of the hand Diamond levelled at him before an offensive spell could be released.  Tux shook his head in honest disappointment.  "Your power is entirely based on your ability to control the minds of others.  You have no charisma or leadership ability do you?  You rely on brute force but since there is always someone who will be stronger you can never rest easily...  No wonder you're so paranoid!"

            Diamond's eyes narrowed.  "I know you now!" he hissed.  His eyes glittered insanely and abruptly he laughed hysterically.  Tux frowned and Diamond grinned at him insanely.  "How does it feel to have so much in common with me?" 

            "We have nothing in common," Tux retorted and spun the man around so he could confine his hands behind him.

            "No?" Diamond laughed again.  "So sure... but what about her?"  He thrust his chin towards where Serenity duelled the Doom Phantom.  "You are just like me.  You want her but you will never have her.  Even if Wiseman does not kill her, she will never settle for a mere human."

            Tux dismissed the madman's ravings.  He did not want Serenity, Sailor Moon or even the Meatball Head.  She was a friend and if his protectiveness was greater than friendship called for that could be accounted for with his knowledge that she was far too important to allow harmed.  Still the truth of the prince's words stung far more than they should have.  Tux growled impatiently and shoved Diamond towards the scouts.  He did not have time for sparring with the waffling white wander-wit.

            He glanced, again, to where Serenity fought.  It was ironic but for once he knew more about what was going on than she did.  She had convinced him to save Diamond by allowing into her mind to see how important it was to her but that wasn't all he had seen.  The glimpse of her inner self had been brief but he now knew the purpose behind her restraint in previous battles.  She had known of Wiseman but not his purpose and until she had discovered it she had to remain hidden.  Even now she still didn't realise that the entire invasion was an elaborate plan to have her assassinated and even if she had known she wouldn't have understood why.  She had absolutely no idea that she was destined to be not a god, but their ruler.  He watched in despair as the future Heart of the Universe fought a battle she was not yet ready for.

***

            Her silver sword slashed the spell asunder.  Serenity breathed a sigh of relief and then her time ran out.  

            "Poor little princess," Wiseman crooned mockingly, "You have no idea of exactly who it is that you face do you?"

            "No," she replied honestly, "But it wouldn't make a difference if I did."

            "Very true," it sneered, "For, daughter of Selene or not, you are no match for the right hand of Kaos!"

            She froze.  "Kaos... the Darkheart...  You're the Doo-"  Her words became a shriek of pain as the Darkstar used her moment of distraction to blast her out of the sky.  She tumbled to the ground and rolled to lie tangled in her own wings near the multicoloured shield of the scouts.  Tuxedo Mask left Diamond under the guard of Mars and left the protection of the shield to rush to her side.  Wracked with pain as she was she had no choice but to accept his aid, even as the threat of the Doom Phantom increased.

            "The first true attempt on your life failed yet I will not and Earth will follow you into death."  Another bolt of dark energy was hurled towards the pair but Tux dragged her into the relative safety of the scouts' shield with less than half a second to spare.

            "Why?" she whispered to herself.  All this effort aimed to kill her just did not make sense.

            "Because of who you will be," Tux answered softly as he inspected her dislocated wing.  She winced as he began to rotate the limb and grasped his proffered mental hand as if it were a lifeline.  He steadied her through the pain even as he explained everything in a mental burst.  _*He told us all plainly when you fell with Sapphire, you are the Speaker's heir and will bring about something called a Renewal.  I don't pretend to understand all of it but I do know that the Speaker is just another title for the incarnation of order, as in the Heart of the Universe.*_

_            *It's not possible.*_

_            *It's not only possible but likely.  The Heart is the white star in my vision and you are the silver light that will become the new white star after you have joined with the gold light...  In fact all of my visions make more sense after today.  Rini is from the future that is why I keep seeing it when I touch her and I'm guessing that the Law of Chronos these nuts broke is a rule about time travel.  You said you're Selene's Law Keeper and, although I don't know what her Law is that they also broke, I bet you have to help enforce Chronos' as well or maybe it's because the alliance that Emerald spoke of.  I'm not sure, but I'll bet it means that we're not supposed to know the future.  _

_            And the Doom Phantom, or whatever it wants to call itself, thinks of this as the second assassination attempt because they overstepped when they travelled through time.  Kaos' first attempt on your life hasn't happened yet but because of Doom Phantom's mistake you're forwarned-*_

            _*I just have to survive the more difficult killer first...  I was told that you were sharp and you are.*_

_            *The other silver light that I saw, the one on Earth, it knows me doesn't it...  It's this twin I keep hearing about-*_

_            *Whoa, Darien.  Stop right there.  Please don't-*_  It was too late and knowledge of what she would have to do travelled into his mind.

            He responded with fury and emphatic words.  _*No!  Not even you have the right to manipulate my memories!  You-*_

_            *I have no choice!  There is a reason your people don't know mine exist.  There is a reason that my mother's interdiction stands.  If you would have your world return to the stars then you must endure the loss of your memories of me.*_

_            *...  All my memories of you?  I don't think you could, you are too intrinsically connected with what's happened over the past week.*_

_            *Personally, I agree but I would not grow too sure of yourself.*_  With that she deliberately blocked the connection between them so that only the strongest of emotions would be able to pass.  She admitted once again the man had a very sharp mind.  The ease with which he had adapted to the lightning fast speed of telepathy was astounding.  Then she turned her mind to more serious matters.

            During their mental conversation, she and Tux had missed only seconds.  Long enough for him to pop her wing back into the joint while she was distracted but not enough time for the Doom Phantom to break through the scouts' shield.  Without a word both added their own layers to the protections around them, hers silver-white, his a crimson red.  From the expressions the scouts wore they expected a miracle from her and their faces fell at her own grim expression.

            "We're going to die aren't we?" Venus said in resignation.

            "If the help I asked for doesn't get here in time... then yes we are." the Lunarian replied frankly.  They all flinched as another strike broke through the two topmost layers of shielding.  Mercury and Jupiter took a second to brace themselves and then formed two new layers underneath Tux's

            "Sooo," Mars drawled as if they weren't in fighting for their lives.  "Your mother's a goddess."

            "A Divine Star," Serenity corrected, "It's not really the same thing."

            "Oh?" Mercury asked, interested in new knowledge even in extreme circumstances.

            The absurdity tickled Serenity's fancy and she chuckled slightly before she elaborated.  "Gods are immortal as in they do not die.  Divine Stars are only immortal as in they do not get old.  They do die sooner or later."

            Another blast and Mars made a new layer.  "Darkstars too?" she asked casually.

            "Oh yes," Serenity replied with heavy irony.  "They can be killed, only usually it's only the Divine Stars who don't get deaded before they do the deed."

            The three outermost layers dissolved in the next blast and Venus, Tux and Serenity scrambled to replace them.

            "You reckon Emerald'll bring help?" Jupiter inquired as if it weren't important.

            Serenity tilted her head and mentally reached for her mother's mind.  All she could sense was supreme concentration with a trace of haste.  She turned back to the scouts.  "Mama knows, it's just a matter of how she'll get help through all the interference here.  There is a reason I didn't just teleport on my own and leave you lot safely on Earth."  She smiled at the raised eyebrows and shrugged.  "This place is basically concentrated dark energy, nega energy, anti energy, antimatter, null matter and lots of other stuff which doesn't belong here but is here in obscene amounts anyway.  It really interferes with the power of Divine Stars or guardians."  A movement in her peripheral vision caught her eye and she turned to see Diamond watching them with a sneer.

            Tux also saw and his jaw clenched.  Serenity laid a hand on his arm and shook her head at him.  Then she walked towards the madman, grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him close enough that their noses touched.  "Your mind might have been damaged but I'm not putting up with your rot any more.  You will start helping us or I'll..."

            "You'll what?"  His purple eyes glittered with animosity and lust.  

            Her temper snapped and she snarled with a menace that took centuries to perfect, "I'll do nothing but since both Selene and Chronos, not to mention Thanatos, hold my life dear you might find it in your own best interest to pull your finger out and lend a hand.  After all it's your soul."  Whether it was her words or her tone, a colourless shield soon joined the others and she released the man with an abrupt jerk.  

            She wiped her hands on her surcoat and moved back to sit near Tux.  "We might be here for a while," she informed them apologetically.

            Tux removed his mask and slipped it into his vest pocket.  "Cool," he said with exaggerated eagerness, "You'll have time to answer our questions!  After all, what can it hurt?"  She glared at him for the last remark but withheld comment.

            "So shoot," she said instead and then added in caution, "But I don't guarantee that I'll answer if you get too personal."

            "Fine." Venus nodded and leaned forward, replacing her shield as she did so.  "Your name really is Serenity?"

            "Yup!"

            "And you're important to Selene and Chronos?  Why Chronos, he your dad?"

            Serenity grinned.  "Nah!  He's a family friend, plus my best friend is his Law Keeper... and lover too."

            "Oooh," Venus laughed, "God gossip!"

            Mars hit her on the shoulder.  "Give it up you airhead!"  She turned back to Serenity.  "So who is your father?"

            Serenity smiled sadly at the thought of the father whom she still hadn't met.  "You probably wouldn't know the name," she told them, "But he's most widely known as Thanatos."

            "As in the Lord of the Dead?!" Mercury exclaimed.  Serenity nodded and Jupiter whistled.

            "Brother?" Tux grabbed the opportunity to ask.

            "Tranquillity," she answered.

            "Of course, what else?" he responded, "On Earth?"

            She looked up and said innocently, "Isn't that a nice pattern on the roof?"

            "So no comment," Jupiter translated and then grinned.  "Boyfriend?"

            "None," she answered with a sigh.

            "Exes?" the brunette persisted.

            "Nope."

            "Ever?"

            "Could we please talk about something other than my nonexistent love life?" she begged.

            Tux grinned.  "So you're a virgin!" he announced and she glared at him.  She knew, just knew, that he was thinking that he was not only her first kiss but also the first man to touch her in any way.  She still owed him for that too.

            "How would you like your perfect profile ruined?" she threatened and then sighed.  "Look it's kind of complicated for me.  My people… we have a... well it translates into soul-mate OK?  It's real, it's necessary and it's bloody monotonous waiting for it to happen."

            "How long have you waited?" he asked softly.

            She smiled crookedly.  "Not quite sure, we measure time differently to you humans.   If it's any help I was born before the Black Death swept Europe... or that's what Artemis told me.  I have to admit that I've only paid very minor attention to what's been happening on Earth..."

            They stared at her in shock.  "That was centuries ago..." Mercury whispered.

            Serenity shrugged.  "So?  I'm still as young for my people as you girls are for yours... though I have to admit puberty and mood swings are a long way behind me, thank the Speaker."  

            She bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing at their expressions.  No more questions seemed to be forthcoming and she reached for her mother again with even less success than the first time.  Apparently her brother sensed her searching for his probe caught hers before she had withdrawn it.

            _*USA?!*_

_            *Yeah Toki?*_

_            *What's happening?*_

_            *The reincarnates all know who and what I am, we're bottled under a shield that cannot possibly last for much longer and the Doom Phantom is currently shooting as us with specific intention to kill me.  All in all, not much*_

_            *Stars, Usa, don't be flippant.  What are you going to do?*_

_            *Wait until Artemis and Luna get her, what else?  I can't defeat it on my own.*_

_            *...  You don't know?*_

_            *Know what?*_

_            *Kaos has equipped his servant too well, we can't get anyone through to you.*_

_            *...*_

_            *Usa?  Usa?!  USAGI!*_

_            *Goodbye Toki.*_

_            *USA-*_  She cut the connection and withdrew to her mind quietly.  She sighed and Tux looked at her.

            "You OK?" he asked.

            "As well as I can be with a wing that needs strapping, more bruises that I have hair, and an insane immortal trying to kill me."

            "That's nice" he responded fatuously and she smiled at his tone.  She edged closer and rested her head on his shoulder, allowing the muffled noise of his thoughts to sooth her.  It was strange that, of all the reincarnates, it was he that she turned to for strength.  "So what's really wrong?" he asked quietly, voice little more than a breath in her ear.  She reach up and her bare hands traced along his face as her mind reached for his.

            _*We're on our own.  No help can get through the interference.*_

_            *Meatball Head...*_

_            *Frog-face...*_

_            *...  So what next?*_

_            *I can't beat him Darien, I'm too young to have that kind of power yet and even all of the experience in the universe cannot make up for that lack.  You'll like the Silver Keep Darien, it's beautiful with a wonderful view of Earth.*_

_            *What-*_

_            *Oddly enough it's in the middle of the Sea of Serenity.*_

_            *I don't-*_

_            *You and the scouts get Diamond and Sapphire there and keep the shield around you.  If you shout with your mind the way you did when I was coming out of the pit someone will hear you and then all you'll have to do is wait.  I'll join you as soon as I can.*_

            His eyes widened and she smiled sadly.  _*You know I have always wanted to visit Earth and now that I have I truly understand why my mother is so determined to see you humans return to the starways.  I won't let anything hurt your planet Darien, I promise.*_  She pulled away from him and stood.

            "What are you going to do?" Venus asked.

            Serenity adjusted her sword belt and rolled her shoulders.  Her wing was still sore but it would hold.  If only she could have spared the energy to heal it properly.  She looked across to the pit.  It was quite a distance away with her wing but she could make it, she had to for down that pit was a larger version of Rubius' dark crystal.  A larger version meant a bigger bang and hopefully that bang would be big enough to blow the whole moon.  She only hoped that she'd have enough time to teleport away... enough magic would be nice too.

            "You lot have to get out of here, fast.  You can't get back to Earth with the shield and all, but Tux knows what to do if you go to the moon."

            "What are you going to do?" Tux demanded as he scrambled to his feet.

            She started to walk to the edge of the shields.  "I can't beat him but I can make damned sure that I destroy him."

            "Wait!"  She would have ignored him but then she heard him fiddling with something.  "I think I know why Rini asked what she did when we all first met."  She turned in time to catch a glittering sphere.  Her gaze flicked from the hollow pommel of his sword that had been the knob on his cane, to his serious eyes.  Slowly she opened her clenched fist to reveal a crystalline orb.  As she watched the myriad facets began to glitter and then beam with light.  She could feel the possibilities contained within the small stone and she let breath out slowly as her gaze rose to meet Tux's once more.  Only it wasn't Tuxedo Mask who met her eyes, it was a man in black armour worthy of any prince.

            "My line has awaited your coming for aeons," he intoned, as if they were in the midst of a sacred ceremony.  "I am..." he paused and she smiled, knowing that he was trying to decide which of his names was more appropriate.  "I am Endymion, final keeper of the Imperial Silver Crystal, and I am honoured to present the Crystal to its rightful wielder."

            She opened her mouth to inquire as to whether he'd lost his mind but something inside of her felt the rightness of it.  The Crystal was hers, she could feel it resonate with her to the depths of her soul.  She held her palm flat and the Crystal rose a short way off it.  She met his eyes and for a moment was silent.  He had not given it to her now because he believed it to be the final time he would see her.  It was a wordless message that she understood instinctively as did the scouts.  The four human girls moved to stand by Endymion until they faced her in a rough semi-circle.  She smiled.  "Thank you."

            Endymion nodded in acknowledgement and turned to the silent Diamond.  "Take your brother to the Sea of Serenity on Earth's moon.  Provide yourself with the means to breath for some time and wait.  If you have a method to bespeak Emerald, I suggest you do so, otherwise it might be some time before you are retrieved."

            The prince nodded awkwardly and moments later the last two members of the Darkmoon family had abandoned their home.  The remaining warriors now waited, no longer replacing the layers of the shield, for the protections to fall.  Serenity had turned her back on the humans so that she could face the Doom Phantom but her friends knew that she did not do so in abandonment.  As she contemplated the sparkling depths of the stone in her possession they gathered around her, Jupiter and Venus to her right, Mercury and Mars to her left and Endymion directly behind her.

            Each began to raise their power in their own way, their brilliant auras becoming visible to each other and then there was only one protective layer of magic between them and their enemy.  Serenity spilled silver power into the gem soon followed by Mars' scarlet with overtones of violet, Mercury's icy blue streaked with a deep sapphire shade, Jupiter's power glowed emerald freckled with steely sparks and Venus' strength was a smooth, rich golden yellow.  The beginnings of crimson heralded Endymion's final addition but she didn't notice anymore for the final shield broke.  She gathered the power, the very substance of her allies and melded it with her own.  

            The final shield fell but it wasn't a group of defeated mortals that met the Doom Phantom.  It was a group of warriors united in a way told of only in legend and guided by one who had been born for such workings.  Rainbows danced within the crystal, the colours swirled and joined until there was a continuous, blinding white and then she struck.  A bolt of power paralysed the being that threatened them and another shot from the crystal, across the chamber and down the pit into the heart of the Darkmoon.  Inextricably connected as they were all six felt the elemental power of their very beings connect with the dark crystal which resided within the Darkmoon.  The structure destabilised and collapsed in a maelstrom of uncontrollable energies.

            The deadly power bubbled up the pit and into the chamber.  The energy fields were swallowed by the voracious energies and the immobile Doom Phantom could only scream in pain as he was swallowed whole.  The explosion of power did not stop there but continued unchecked throughout the Darkmoon.  

            An image formed in her mind and transmitted itself to the others in the joining.  White marble, silver trellises, a large chamber.  It was safe and it was protected.  Human and Lunarian mind alike yearned for the distant sanctuary and with a last pulse of power the crystal granted their wish and then it went dormant.  Serenity was the only one to arrive fully conscious.  Confused and worried faces stared at her but one dominated as it rushed to her.  Concerned silver eyes stared at her and Serenity smiled as she drifted into darkness.  She was home.

***

            _She giggled as she danced on an errant breeze and he sighed, she refused to come within reach of his eager hands.  "So exactly what are you?" he questioned in exasperation._

_            "A guardian!" she twirled and her hair flew outwards and revealed her other, more delectable assets.  "I'm a Guardian Star!"_

_            He moved closer to her unobtrusively.  "So what's that?"  Suddenly he jumped but her ankle slipped from his grasp as she twisted away._

_            "Not mortal, not god!" she chanted in a sing-song voice.  She smiled at him and descended to the ground several steps away from him.  The sudden light in her face made him freeze and she took a slow step forward.  "Guardian Stars are often the children of Divine Stars who have not yet or will not ever become a Divine Star themselves."  She took another step.  "Sometimes they are powerful mortals who find favour with an immortal."  Then she was only two steps away.  "They are all guardians sworn to the service of a Divine Star.  Often a Divine Star has a favourite who becomes The Guardian and they will serve as their patron's Law Keeper should their patron ever need to be a Law Maker."  Her sapphire eyes were strangely dark as they stared at him.  "I am the Guardian of Selene."  Then she was in his arms and all thought deserted him._

_            There was only the two of them, surrounded by wind, and the gods, even hers, were far distant._

***

            He didn't want to leave his slumber, for the first time in a long time his dream was progressing in a satisfactory manner and did not look to about be prematurely ended.  Yet the real world beckoned and his subconscious demanded that he answer the call.  Memory of the dream dissolved even as his eyes opened and he swallowed a virulent curse.  He knew that he had dreamed and he would give anything to remember it but voices stopped him from frantically pummelling his memory and the memory was lost far beyond his reach.        

            "I would like to talk to him before I do this.  It cannot cause more damage than has already occurred"

            "Serenity I do not consider-"

            "It would do no harm your majesty."

            "If you are sure Setsuna then perhaps..."

            "He is awake!"

            He finally found where the voices were coming from and Darien saw Bunny, no, Serenity standing with two unknown women.  Or rather, one unknown woman.  The other was the one he had seen in his vision and he had no doubt as to her identity.  Silver hair, silver eyes and a golden crescent insignia.  She was Serenity's mother, Selene.

            "So you know who I am Endymion?" the goddess murmured softly while she examined him.  She sent a faintly reproachful glance at her daughter.  "You have acquired much knowledge which is dangerous to your world."

            "To be fair to the Meatball Head, I have to admit that most of what I know I didn't learn from her," he replied and then swallowed.  Considering that Selene wore the same hairstyle as her daughter it was possibly not the wisest thing he could have said.  "Ahh..."

            The Divine Star smiled gently and his worries faded.  "I shall leave you to my daughter's tender mercies.  I am afraid that recent events have left much to be done.  Whatever else, I am grateful for this opportunity to have met you face to face young mage."

            Darien bolted up and Serenity supported him when dizziness almost caused him to fall back.  A faint silver light surrounded her hands where she touched him and he felt his strength return.  The energy transfer meant that he would not go into shock from energy deprivation as she had they day before...

            "How long?"

            "A week," the stranger answered.  Darien examined her.  Dusky skin, dark green hair, magenta eyes, power but no threat.  He turned back to Serenity and looked at her in question.

            She smiled.  "This is Setsuna, the other Law Keeper I told you about."

            "Chronos'," he recalled.

            "Yes, and it is with her help that much of the damage on Earth was undone."  He looked at her sharply and she explained, "We destroyed the Darkmoon and the shield protected the planet from debris until the spell faded-" He was about to ask her about the backlash they'd feared but she forestalled him.  "The spell didn't do so naturally, my twin guided it so no harm was done."  So Tranquillity was on Earth.  "Yet the damage done before the shield was erected remained."  She frowned and he sensed that she was trying to find words, her facility with his language failing her for the first time in his memory.  "Setsuna spliced time, making it so, according to the creatures of Earth, that the week in which the Darkmoon attacked never happened."

            "It was a localised spell Endymion," Setsuna continued, "Only Earth was affected and so the Darkmoon was still destroyed, as was the Doom Phantom and Serenity still took the next steps on her path to her destiny."

            At that Serenity turned to her friend and glared.  "I owe you for not warning me about this Sets."

            "You have never wished to know your future," the second woman replied calmly and then smiled with sudden mischief at Darien.  "Technically that's not true, she just learned her lesson after the first time and has been scrupulous about it ever since."

            "Anyway Darien," Serenity said loudly.  His lips twitched and she transferred her glare to him, daring him to say something.  "Anyway," she repeated, "Earth's back to normal and that just leaves you and the scouts."

            "And our memories," he finished.

            Serenity glanced to Setsuna and back.  "Actually, it's just your memories that remain now.  The scouts have already been done and Luna and Artemis are just waiting for us to finish with you before they teleport you all down to my brother to see home."

            He didn't say anything, just stared at her.  He knew that she thought it necessary and he trusted her judgment but that did not mean that he would make it easy on her.

            "I know nothing I can do or say will make it OK with you," she eventually said, "But maybe I can compensate you for the intrusion on your mind.  I will take eight days from you but, in exchange, I will return your first six years to you."

            He stared at her blankly.  To remember his life before the accident which had left him an orphan had always been his fondest wish and he wondered how far she had delved into his mind to discover it.  "You can do that?" he requested hoarsely and she nodded.  "Do it," he ordered.

            She smiled at him sadly.  "One final thing, you lost your cane back in the Darkmoon and it cannot be retrieved so we have replaced it."  She presented him with a slender new staff.  It was polished ebony with a silver know that looked almost identical to his original tool.  "It's stronger and lighter than your other one and the release mechanism for the blade is the same...  The crystal is in the knob like before."  He looked at her in surprise and she avoided his gaze.

            "Why?  It's yours," he told her and she met his eyes.  Hers were shadowed, the events of the last battle had scarred her and it showed.

            "I'm not ready for it," she said, "Neither mentally nor physically.  If I were to use it again, it'd probably kill me."

            He concealed his disbelief and nodded.  "If my vision continues to run true, we'll meet again.  You can get it then."

            Setsuna raised an eyebrow at that but Serenity just shook her head.  "Deal."  She reached out and gently touched his temples.

            "I guess this means that you won't be able to get revenge for that little... ah... prank I pulled in the temple huh?" he said, hoping to delay the inevitable.  She looked at him in confusion and he boldly stroked her breast with his thumb.  She reddened and both of Setsuna's eyebrows disappeared into her hair.  When she had her colour under control once again she smiled at him wryly.

            "Aren't you lucky?"

            "Very," he agreed but he didn't believe it to be the truth.  Her gentle touch intensified and the hours and days fell away from him.  His last thought as the recollection of a rotted wooden bridge vanished was that, childhood memories or no, it was not a fair exchange at all.


	11. Epilogue

Just wanted to thank everyone who reviewed this one and to let you know that this is not the end of the story.  The second in the Book of the Renewal (The Guardians of Selene) will be out in a couple of weeks.  Hope you enjoy.

Draegyn

**********************************************************

The Law Keeper - Epilogue

First in the Book of the Renewal

By Draegyn

Dragynne2000@yahoo.com.au

            Serenity examined the small room that had, for a short time, been hers.  Gone were the stuffed animals, the frills and ribbons that had decorated the room during her brief stay.  All that remained was the neutral arrangement that could have been a guest room anywhere.  She sighed ruefully, it wasn't as if a frilly pink decor was her first choice but it had been the theme that had fit Bunny and Serenity would miss it.

            "Is Rini ready?" she asked aloud, not afraid that her former family would hear her.  She was subtly out of phase with the rest of the universe and her presence was completely undetectable except to those who were in the same, slightly skewed, dimension that she was currently in.  Setsuna nodded wordlessly and Serenity sighed again.

            "You need not have returned here," her green haired friend advised her, "Rini is with your twin and the Tsukino family have no memory of the week you spent here.  There is no evidence that either of you were ever here.  So there is no reason for you to have returned here."

            Serenity smiled crookedly at the other guardian.  "I know Sets."  She walked to the door and through it into the hallway.  She felt Setsuna frown at her before following and soon they had gone down the stairs into the lounge room.  They stood, invisible, behind the couch where two males sat.  The elder was silent as he read the paper and the boy's noises were perfunctory at best as he played the same Sailor V game that Serenity had become so interested in.  

            "At least the time loop means that Rini never broke the game," she commented, more to herself than to Setsuna.  The companion in question merely raised an eyebrow that Serenity studiously ignored.

            At that moment the boy threw the control pad onto the floor with a sound of disgust.  The man looked up from his paper and asked, "What's the matter Sammy?  Game not going your way?"

            "It's going great, I got a new high score..." Sammy replied unenthusiastically.

            "So what's the problem?" Ken Tsukino questioned his son.

            Sammy looked at him in confusion.  "I don't know Dad, I really don't know...  It's just not the same any more.  Something's missing and it's taking all of the fun out of it."

            Ken put the paper the paper down and drew his son in for a hug and it was a measure of how depressed the preteen truly felt that he did not protest.  "I understand exactly what you feel," the man told his child, "It's like all of the energy has left the house."

            Serenity could bear to see no more and quickly left the room.  Setsuna followed and the Lunarian could feel the perplexity that was starting to grow in her friend.  A moment later found them in the kitchen where a dark haired woman stared at two bunny mugs sadly.  Abruptly she shook herself and put the mugs on the top shelf but that did not stop her from giving them one last, regretful glance before she turned back to her chores.

            Serenity reached out to the woman but her hand passed through Ilene Tsukino's arm to no effect other than to reveal to the Law Keeper a yearning that the woman herself did not understand.  There was an absence in the human's spirit, as if a part of Ilene remembered and mourned the loss of a daughter.  Almost as if she sensed the touch, Ilene shivered and Serenity stepped away from the human woman.

            "What is wrong with me?" the two watchers heard her ask the world in general before they retreated out of the room.

            Several minutes later they walked down the street, no longer insubstantial but a part of the world around them.  "Will you tell me what purpose all of that just served?" Chronos' Law Keeper questioned mildly as the pair walked away from the house.  

            Serenity looked grim, the sights she had just witnessed confirming something she had not wanted to believe.  It was several minutes before she answered but Setsuna was nothing if not patient.  What else could be expected from one who served Chronos?   "I was checking on something my mother once told me, something the last couple of weeks' events have made applicable.  You see, nothing can change the fact that they lived with me for several days."  

            "But you didn't.  That's the whole point of splicing time."  Setsuna's voice was impatient and Serenity regretted implying that her friend had been careless in her work. 

            "You're the one that doesn't understand Setsuna.  The thing Mama told me about was about the Speaker and his nature.  He defies all rules, you see.  The Heart of the universe is a law unto himself.  He's the one person you can let travel time freely after all."  A weight seemed to settle on her shoulders, one that was greater than any caused by her responsibilities as a Law Keeper or even a possible Council Member.  "I'll never be just a guardian, even if I fail the testing that is sure to come my way in the future."  She gave Setsuna a hard look and her friend had the grace to look away.  "It doesn't matter that I'm not even the equal of a Divine Star yet.  If I am truly the Speaker's heir-"  Setsuna did not refute it and Serenity's last hope faded as she finished, "If I am truly the Speaker's heir then, even now, the seeds of what he is also reside within me and that changes everything."

            Setsuna stopped for a moment and then pulled her into the shade of a large tree to give them a semblance of privacy.  Magenta eyes searched her own sapphire gaze and the woman's voice was strangely gentle as she asked, "Does it?  Does it truly Usa?"

            To her surprise Serenity felt her eyes fill with tears and her friend embraced her warmly as she began to shake convulsively.  "Isn't there someone else?" she begged the Guardian of Time.  Surely there was someone else who could shoulder the burden and do so with a gladder heart than hers.

            "I am afraid not," she was told, "The Speaker has awaited your coming since before the birth of your mother and my lord, both.  The awakening of the Imperium Silver Crystal by your hand only confirms what we have long known."

            "We?"  Her voice trembled but if there were others who could have warned her of what was coming she wanted to know of them.

            Setsuna sighed, reluctant to reveal too much, but sensitive to her need to know.  "High Lady Selene, Lord Thanatos, my Lord Chronos, perhaps your fellow guardians in Selene's service-"

            Luna and Artemis then but-  "My brother?"

            "No, there was no need for him to know.  Your education needed to be tailored specifically to the needs of your destiny and so your teachers had to be aware but to tell you or your twin would have laid undue burden upon you both."

            "And it doesn't now?"

            "Supposedly you are mature enough to cope at this time."  The Law Keeper's voice held slight sardonic undertones.

            Serenity met Setsuna's eyes and allowed her emotions to show plainly.  "I'm scared," she whispered, "It was bad enough when it was possible that I might be Mama's heir but to know that I'm being groomed as the _Speaker's_ heir?"  Her voice cracked and she forced herself to calm down.  "I'm sorry Sets..."

            The Plutonian smiled kindly.  "You can always come to me to talk or just to work off steam.  It might sound strange Usa, but I have a notion of what you're going through.  I felt much the same way when my Lord of Time first made himself known to me."  She sighed in recollection.  "I was a mortal, not especially noteworthy.  Speaker bless, I was a seamstress!  Then one day in the market a man appeared in... _unusual_ clothing."

            Serenity sniffed and straightened up.  "Oh?"

            "Alright, he looked downright bizarre!" Setsuna admitted with a laugh.  "And you know how insular Pluto was right up until a century before the Fall."  

            Serenity nodded and the two of them left the shade of the tree.  History of the local worlds was one of the topics she had been tutored in.  Partly because of who her mother was and partly because the knowledge would aid in her mission to repair the damage done to the other planets in the war which caused the Fall.  It was her responsibility to ensure that Earth's eight sister planets were all capable of supporting life by the time the Interdiction was lifted.

            "Anyway," Pluto continued as they strolled down the street, "My fellow citizens were aghast at the appearance of the newcomer.  His apparel clearly marked him as a foreigner and he was given the cold shoulder by one and all.  From the more worldly perspective that I now possess I admit that his attire held a certain elegance but my lover's fondness for black has ever served to accomplish little other than to make him appear sinister.  Even so I saw past his poor choice in colour and perceived, I blush to say, a very attractive man and so I decided to intervene..."

***

            "Fred," Darien said calmly and took a sip out of his coffee.

            "Fred?!" Andrew blurted a little louder than he would have preferred.  

            Several of the customers turned from their games to look at him curiously.  Even Rini looked at them strangely before she returned her attention to the Sailor V game.  She was waiting for a certain pair of Law Keepers to take her home and until then she was under his protection.  Not that Andrew minded, his sister had been through a lot recently and he could allow her a little time to catch up.  She had barely made it back to the Silver Keep with reincarnates alive and once there she had been unconscious nearly ninety-six hours.  That had been enough time for Luna and Artemis to escort the sisters to moon, Setsuna to work her magic and their mother to convene the Council for judgment.  Also, as soon as Rini was returned to her parents Setsuna and Serenity were summoned to testify in the matter before the Council.  So he would not grudge his sister her leisure...  Besides, Rini was a great kid and he had considered asking Sets if she might possibly be his grandchild, or even his twin's.

            That thought drew him back to the matter at hand and Andrew lowered his voice.  "Your father's name was Fred?" he asked incredulously.  The father of his best friend and possibly the most powerful human alive had been called Fred?  How... ordinary!

            Darien raised an eyebrow, amused at Andrew's disappointment.  "What?  Were you expecting Beelzebub or something?"

            Honestly, it wouldn't have surprised the Lunarian man but that was probably not the most diplomatic thing he could say.  "Well," he prevaricated, "When my best friend informs me that after nearly fifteen years his childhood amnesia is gone I expected a little more than, 'My dad's name was Fred'!"

            Darien hid a smile in his coffee but Andrew saw it anyway and didn't bother to conceal his own, answering, grin.  For a moment he wondered at a glimpse of something in his friend's expression and then dismissed it.  He had never seen Darien as excited as he had been that morning when he'd met him at the arcade doors.  His friend had been so worked up after awaking to a complete set of memories that he'd gone to the arcade at half past seven in the morning and waited half an hour for Andrew to arrive for work.  His sister had done a wonderful thing in returning Darien's lost years, even if she had stolen a week or so of his past while she was at it.

            "So, other than Fred, what else do you remember?"

            Darien put his cup down and recited, not quite calmly, "My mother was Mara Chiba, I had a dog called Thorn, my best friend was my next door neighbour, Kip the Jyp, and I absolutely hated cigarette smoke."

            "Big surprise!" Andrew muttered sarcastically.  As if the both of them hadn't known that for years!

            Darien rolled his eyes but continued as if he hadn't been interrupted.  "We lived in a small cottage an hour or so out of Tokyo and both of my parents loved to garden.  Dad liked trees and hedges while my mother preferred vegetable and herb gardens.  They'd started to teach me how to take care of plants and I even had my own little flower bed where I had planted roses."

            "Of course, what else?"

            Darien shrugged, not at all embarrassed that his tastes had changed so little over the years.  "My father's parents died when he was a teenager, his only brother a little later and my mother's father when I was about five.  I don't remember anything about my mother's mother, I think she might have died giving birth to my mother."

            "So you have no family?" Andrew questioned, disappointed for Darien's sake.  Part of his friend's need to remember had been the desire to know if he was truly alone or if he still had family somewhere.

            Darien's faced closed for a moment and then cleared.  "I think my mother had a brother that became estranged around the same time my parents married and I think he had a couple of children but I can't be sure.  I was too young to pay much attention to what my parents said other than that 'Uncle Aaron' had gotten another girl in trouble."

            Andrew raised his eyebrows.  "A black sheep, huh?"

            "Maybe," Darien replied thoughtfully, "But I won't know until I meet him."

            "So you're going to track him down?"

            "Of course.  What else would you..."  He trailed off and gaped at something over Andrew's shoulder.

            The blonde frowned.  His friend had the singularly most moronic expression on his face that Andrew had ever witnessed.  "Darien?  Hello?  Anyone in there?"

            "Simply beautiful," the human male murmured.  With a shock Andrew realised that for the first time in his knowledge he was seeing his friend love-struck and he whirled to see the paragon who had to have just walked in the door.

            "-and so a year later I arrive home to find him in front of my door in all his splendour.  There was no mistaking who and what he was then and he asked me, 'have you thought on my request my love?'  I nodded dumbly and after a moment, in which I suspect he waited for my answer, he asked, 'will thou say yea or nay?'  I was still too stunned and he became impatient and demanded, 'come on Setsuna, yes or no.  It's not that hard.'  I just stared at him, unable to believe that it was really happening and he gave up and kissed me.  Now how could I ever say no to him when he did that?  The rest is, as they say, history."

            Andrew felt like bashing his head on the bench.  Of all the woman in the universe for Darien to fall for he had to find a Law Keeper who was most definitely wed to her god.  His sister sensed some of his frustration and glanced at him for the merest instant and smiled from Setsuna's side.  Setsuna nodded to him, then both woman went to greet Rini and Andrew turned back to Darien.

            "She's gorgeous, I'll give you that Dare, but personally I prefer my ladies to have lighter hair," he commented and didn't bother to hide his weariness.  The man deliberately went out of his way to be contrary, Andrew was sure, otherwise why else would it be so hard for the son of Selene to set him up?

            Darien didn't notice his aggravation, distracted as he was, and his reply was dreamy.  "If her hair was any paler, it'd be white.  No, she's perfect already.  That hair, those eyes, her lips, her body!"

            Her body indeed, Setsuna would not appreciate being mentally undressed, although the evidence that Darien's self control had not eradicated his hormones was reassuring.  Suddenly Andrew did a double take.  "You mean the blonde?!"  He choked and started to cough.  Darien broke out of his daze and thumped him on the back until his breath came regularly once more.  "You mean the blonde?" he repeated in an urgent whisper and Darien nodded.

            "Of course, who else?  I mean forget her sheer physical beauty and look at that killer smile.  With a smile like that she has to be beautiful inside as well and...  She's talking to the kid you're babysitting!  Do you know her?"

            "Rini is in Setsuna's care," Andrew replied, absently repeating part of the cover story he'd been using for the last week.  Darien was ogling his sister, the girl he would have died rather than ever be polite to!  It was just too weird.  There was also the little problem that he would no longer remember the warning Andrew had given him and even if he had his sister no longer looked like the fourteen year old girl Darien had known.

            "I don't care about the brunette," Darien interrupted his train of thought impatiently.  "The blonde, Andrew, the blonde!"

            Andrew felt his eyes widen at the slightly unhinged quality to his friend's voice.  "Forget about her Darien," he said quickly, hoping to avoid trouble.  "Usagi's taken."

            "Usagi..." Darien mumbled dreamily and then blinked.  "Taken?"

            Andrew nodded mutely.  He felt guilty when Darien's face fell with disappointment but it was better now than later.  His twin was meant for someone else, most likely the being with the golden energy signature that Darien himself had seen in her future.  Probably the same being who had sent both Lunarians strength when they struggled to prevent the Earth from being torn apart.  Damn, it was a pity that the man didn't remember even having the vision.  "I'm sorry Dare."

            The young man pulled himself together and soon it was the old, aloof, Darien who looked through indigo eyes.  "Don't think about it," he said calmly, "It was only a temporary aberration on my part, I'm sure.  I'm not myself today otherwise my hormones would not have rioted as they just did."  He stood and stepped away from the counter.  "I'll see you later Andy, I want to start looking for my prodigal uncle."  With that the he stalked quickly out of the arcade and Andrew watched in silence.

            As ever, the reincarnate's perception and taste was impeccable, unfortunately he was not satisfied with a nice human girl.  "No," Andrew muttered, "He has to choose my sister!  That's even worse than falling for Sets."  He sighed once more and joined the three females near the Sailor V game.

            "What was that all about?" Serenity asked him and he grunted.

            "Nothing much, just something which indicates that if you and Darien had met under better circumstances then you probably would have had him twisted around your little finger within seconds."

            She was silent for a moment before she retorted weakly, "But that wouldn't have been nearly as much fun..."

            "No, it wouldn't.  Ah well, come and sit over here so we can talk a bit before you take Rini."  They followed him and he found a couple of extra stools in the back room.  "OK Usa," he started, cheering up, "You said you needed some help paying a bet?"

***

            She stepped out of the portal from the fourth dimension and squeaked in an undignified manner when she almost ran into Setsuna.  She stared at the other Law Keeper for a moment, she had just left her to return Rini to the future after all, but the shrugged off her surprise.  She really didn't want to know how she managed to be in two places at the same time, it no doubt involved the manipulation of time in some way and that was a practice that Serenity avoided altogether.

            Without a word they fell in to step and made their way to the centre tower of the keep.  Several minutes, and many flights of stairs, later they passed through an open archway into the workspace at the highest point of the keep.  There was no roof, just a stone banister made out of the same marble as the rest of the keep.  It wasn't an enormous area but it wasn't small either.  In the centre a symmetric circle of darker marble marked the white floor.  It was about five metres in diameter and within it stood the seven surviving members of the Darkmoon family.  Outside, at opposite sides, of the circle her old tutors and fellow guardians stood watch on the prisoners.  Luna was in yellow silk robes, the staff in her hand taller than she was.  Artemis wore armour very similar to the suit that Serenity wore, the main difference was that his wasn't adapted for someone with wings.

            Before the group were the final two beings present and Setsuna and she separated to stand with their respective liege.  For a moment Serenity considered Chronos out of the corner of his eye in light of the story she had learned a few hours earlier.  It wasn't that she regarded the immortal with awe it was just she could think of him from the point of view of an interested woman.  She gave it up silently, it was impossible for her to think of him as anything but a beloved uncle.  Her mother pinched her telekinetically and she hurriedly gathered her thoughts.  Even as she began to focus on the coming trial, the group was surrounded by light.

            Serenity felt the awesome minds of her mother's peers greet her and she calmly laid out her memories of the entire week she had spent on Earth.  Nearby those of the Darkmoon were similarly inspected as was Setsuna but she forgot about it as she relieved her time as Bunny Tsukino.  Events flashed before her eyes and she felt their approval of her spell casting on the sixth day when the Darkmoon appeared in Earth's sky.  She felt their amusement at Darien's actions not long after and one of the Council even suggested a possible means of retribution for the bold mauling he had given her.  Yet all levity vanished as they lived through the final battle with her and witnessed the destruction of the Doom Phantom through her eyes.  When they withdrew from her memories they did so almost humbly and from more than one she caught the impression of... awe?

            **_HIGH LADY SELENE.  LORD CHRONOS_**_._

            Serenity's thoughts froze.  Such a mental presence could be only one being and in the shock of its proximity she barely registered the subtle details that she perceived about it.  Absently she made note of them for later consideration although one little titbit of information was more than a little surprising.  She had always thought of the speaker as a _he_…

            **_IN CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH MORE THAN A SINGLE OF THY NUMBER ARE WRONGED THE ACCUSED ARE TO BE BROUGHT BEFORE THE COUNCIL FOR JUDGMENT.   AS HAS BEEN DONE_**

**_            THE CHARGES LAID NEED BE HEARD BY A QUORUM OF THY NUMBER.  AS HAS BEEN DONE._**

**_            TIS THE OPINION OF THY FELLOWS THAT THE MORTALS PRESENTED ARE GUILTY OF TRESPASSING AGAINST BOTH OF THEE.   IF ONE WILL NOT SURRENDER CLAIM THEN THE COUNCIL SHALL ASSIGN A SENTENCE._**

            _*Nay, Great One.  Twill not be necessary.  Selene and I have discussed our possible courses of action and have decided on one which we both find acceptable.*_

**_            CONTINUE CHRONOS._**

_            *As was seen from Law Keeper Serenity's testimony, these mortals, although wrongful in their intent against Earth, only broke our laws at the urging of a power greater than they.  Their actions were not performed clearly of free will and so both I and Selene recommend leniency.*_

**_            YET THEIR ACTIONS ENDANGERED A SOUL MOST PRECIOUS AND ALLOWED THE DARKHEART TO THREATEN THE RENEWAL.  DOTH THEE ADVISE THAT THEY BE FREED OF ALL RESPONSIBILITY?_**

_            *Nay great one, Chronos and I suggest that they be allowed an opportunity to repay the trouble they have caused.*_

**_            I LISTEN SELENE._**

_            *I have but five guardians in all and two of that number are occupied on Earth, leaving their fellows, among them the Precious Lady, to patrol the boundaries of my interdiction as well as fulfil the other duties I have requested of them.   I would ask that those of the Darkmoon are given the responsibilities of watchman that my guardians may be freed for other duties, most especially my Guardian whom is often distracted from her healing projects to investigate minor anomalies.*_

**_            YOU WOULD APPOINT THOSE WHO WERE YOUR DAUGHTER'S ENEMIES AS YOUR SENTINELS, EVEN KNOWING THAT THE LIFE OF MY OWN HEIR WOULD BE IN THEIR HANDS?_**

_            *My daughter is not so easily dismissed even should treachery prove to be the case.  More like it be the betrayers rather than the betrayed that suffers.  Thus I say yes, 'tis worth the risk to rehabilitate these souls.*_

            For a moment there was only silence.  It was as if the entire universe awaited the answer to the petition of Selene and Chronos.

**_            AS THOU HAST WILLED IT, SO SHALL IT BE.  DOTH THOU HEAR MORTALS?  THY LIFE IS SPARED BUT NOT WITHOUT PRICE AND THE PRICE OF FUTURE PERFIDY IS INFINITELY HIGHER.  THY MINDS ARE THINE OWN ONCE MORE AND THOU SHALT TAKE THE NAME OF NEWMOON TO SIGNIFY THY RESCUE FROM DOOM.  MEET THE FUTURE WITH GREATER WISDOM THAN THOU DID THE PAST AND THOU SHALT PROSPER._**

            Serenity felt the minds of the newly named Newmoon family retreat and, one by one, the Divine Stars around also departed, though never without a final salutation.  She was about to follow when the heavy presence surrounded her and her alone.

**_            PRECIOUS LADY SERENITY, LONG HAVE I AWAITED THY COMING._**

            Awe almost overwhelmed her but some part of her refused to be cowed, even by one such as the Heart of the Universe.  _*So I have recently discovered,*_ she responded respectfully but with the faintest hint of levity.  The levity grew more pronounced when the Speaker showed no sign of disapproval.  _*I may not suppose there has been a mistake or that You can change thy mind?*_

**_            NAY PRECIOUS LADY.  THOU ART THE ONE, THERE IS NO DOUBT REMAINING._**

_            *I am going to kill Frog-face for this, it is entirely his fault.  If only he had not given me the Crystal...*_

**_            THY CHEER IN SUCH A TIME IS A WONDROUS THING._**

_            *I joke because I am terrified.*_

**_            PRECIOUS LADY, THOU ART ALL THAT I HAVE HOPED FOR AND MORE.  TRUST IN THYSELF AND THE SOULS THAT TRULY LOVE THEE AND THOU SHALL PERFORM MIRACLES.  WE SHALL MEET AGAIN PRECIOUS LADY, TSAAYONARA MITHRILLEA LYLLISAEN._**

            She was sent a wordless burst of strength and then he was back in her own body.  She opened her eyes to see her mother smile at her from where she spoke with Chronos and Setsuna, Artemis and Luna listened to both deities quietly.  She turned her attention to the Newmoon family to find that they were staring at her in awe.

            "Would you lot quit that?" she snapped irritably in English.

            Catzi spoke uncertainly, "You told us your name was Usagi..."

            "It is," she replied shortly and Diamond looked at her sceptically and she had to admit that he wasn't half bad when he was in his right mind.  She sighed.  "It is what my friends call me and, since we are all going to be working quite closely, I think it might be a good idea for us to forget the formalities unless they are absolutely necessary."  They all still looked unsure, she restrained another sigh and decided to change the subject.

            "Have you noticed what the Speaker changed along with your name?"  They were unified in their bafflement and she touched the golden crescent on her forehead.  Sapphire looked down at Prisma and his eyes widened.  Slowly the rest of them caught on and Serenity started to smile.  Their crescent insignia had been rotated until the tips faced up as her own did, and, instead of the former black, the markings all shone silver.  "I have to say that it's an improvement," she drawled.

            "I am glad you believe so my precious Serenity," her mother's voice interrupted the family's babbling.  The Lunarian queen walked to her daughter's side and surveyed her new subjects.  "For as soon as Setsuna has erased their knowledge of the future, we must introduce our new sentinels to the court."  She suddenly smiled in a manner very like Serenity's own grin.  "I think perhaps we have an excuse to celebrate."

            Serenity brightened and her expression of delight mirrored her mother's.  "And if that not enough we can have a feast honouring Sapphire and Prisma's soul-bond."  The two in question blushed and looked away but their hands remained tightly clasped.

            _*Yes that is perfect Mama, only one more thing.*_

_            *What?*_

_            *We have to introduce Diamond to some other Lunarian girls.*_

***

            Rini rested her head on Usagi's shoulder, she could not think of the older girl as Serenity.  It was almost time for the warrior to leave and although Rini knew she would see Usagi's future self shortly, those two selves were distinct personalities separate from each other, Rini would miss the younger version.  A stray feather from one of Usagi's wings floated onto her fist and she caught it before it blew away.  She would have at least this to remind her of her time in the past.  She would put it in LunaP when Puu had finished fixing her. 

            "I'll miss you Usagi," she whispered and felt the other girl place a soft kiss on the top of her head.

            "And I you, Spore."  Usagi lowered her to what passed for the ground in the fourth dimension and kneeled so that they could look directly at one another.  Her sapphire gaze glittered strangely and Rini realised that her defender had tears in her eyes.  Usagi smiled weakly and softly stroked her cheek.  "I am honoured to have had the chance to meet you Rini and I hope that I shall meet you again in the future."

            "You will!" Rini exclaimed and threw herself at Usagi for a hug.  "I promise, you will."

            "Small Lady," Puu warned and Rini sighed.  She must not let on to Usagi what would happen in the future.

            "Sorry Puu," she whispered as she pulled back from the blonde.

            "One final question Spore," Usagi asked hoarsely.  She swallowed heavily and continued more clearly, "I can get my hands on the Crystal if you still want it-"

            "No need," Puu interrupted again and Rini fidgeted uneasily.  Puu place a hand on her shoulder and she calmed quickly.  "Asking Small Lady to seek out the Crystal was to ensure that Endymion would remember it when the time came and so he did."

            "I guess," Usagi replied thoughtfully and stood up.  "But she sure knows a lot about it."  Rini started to worry again, did Usagi suspect?

            Puu actually laughed.  "In Small Lady's time you have passed into legend and your deeds are widely told to all.  In that era the Crystal is no longer hoarded in secrecy and is almost as renowned as you, yourself."  

            Rini blinked in admiration, Puu really knew how to tell the truth without telling secrets.  To her surprise though, Usagi did not look all that pleased to know that she was going to be famous in fact she looked slightly ill.

            "Usagi?"

            "Don't worry Spore, I just have some issues to work out that's all."  

            Rini did worry but Puu shook her head.  "Remember, I will always be here for you if you need me Usa."

            "I know Sets and thank you.  Heart bless thee Setsuna."

            "And the Speaker thee, Serenity."

            Usagi smiled and turned back to Rini.  Her voice became strangely heavy and yet ringing as she said, "Ara mikonniu jiru jornanayn kirlaen...  fy lyllisae Mithrillea lirreial."  

            May all that is blessed protect you... my precious Small Lady.

            Rini closed her eyes rather than risk Usagi seeing her tears as she left.

            Warm arms closed around her from behind and Rini's eyes darted open.  She knew this touch and it could not be again so soon unless...  She whirled in her mother's arms and grasped the immortal woman in a strangle hold around the neck.  "Mama!"  

            "Hush now Small Lady, I am here, all is well.  I promise you, all is well." her mother's voice was gentle and loving just as she remembered it and it had been so long since she had last heard.  Far longer than the handful of days she had spent as a refugee in the past.  "I am so proud of you my wonderful daughter.  Because of you I am free from my crystal protections and your father is near fully healed."

            Rini shuddered in relief.  The two most important people to her were safe and soon they would all be together.  Yet before she returned she had a final question to ask.  She looked into her mother's magical sapphire eyes with her own ruby gaze.  "So that was how it began?  That was the start of everything?"

            Her mother laughed, a musical ripple that heartened Rini to hear.  "One could say that everything began the moment the Heart of the Universe created the Imperium Silver Crystal and charged a human warrior to guard it.  Or the moment that Thanatos released ten souls from his realm into Selene's care.  Or even the moment that my brother and I, two new silver lights, came into existence.   What you have seen was but one beginning and only one of many."

            "So does the story ever end?"

            "A chapter may end but the story itself is eternal."  Her mother's eyes were full of wisdom and Rini wondered at the secrets they also held.

            "Would you like to see how that particular chapter ended Small Lady?" Puu asked with a smile and Rini nodded eagerly.  Although she wished to see her father again she also wanted to know how her friends in the past had become the people she had grown up knowing.  Puu's smiled widened and she looked at Rini's mother.  "Well My Queen, shall I show her?"

            "I have no objections... other than to your irritating habit of being formal.  Sets don't 'my queen' me!  I do have a name!" Mama tried to sound stern but Rini knew she wasn't upset by the way she shook with restrained laughter.

            "Several, I know," Puu responded and raised an eyebrow mischievously.  "I do believe the next part began with a dream."  

            Mist gathered before the trio and Puu knelt beside Rini and her mother as all three peered at the image that formed before them.  Rini blinked.  It showed her mother... in Darien's dream... and she was naked!

            "Oh no Sets!"

            "Oh yes my friend, oh yes.  You of all people know that Darien never once in his life dreamt of you with your clothes on and his dreams are where we shall begin the next part."

***

            _"What is in a name?" she asked and he smiled at her.  She was cradled in his arms, both of them laying on a branch in a megalith of a tree.  Ten moons were visible in the sky and she had shown him how to pick out the invisible three with his othersenses.  The orange sky darkened as the distant sun sank below the horizon._

_            "A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet," he murmured to her and she nodded._

_            "That's right, so why are names so important to you?"_

_            He looked down at her shifting features.  Her face changed, moment by moment, so that he could never tell exactly what she looked like and he yearned for the chance to be able to memorise her features against the day when she would inevitably be taken from him.  "To know a soul's name is to know the soul itself," he answered softly._

_            "But a soul can be called many things," she protested._

_            "Maybe but it can have only one name, and that is the name by which the soul's true and eternal partner shall know it."_

_            "Oh, and what's yours?"_

_            "I don't know it yet," he replied sadly._

_            "I do," she whispered.  She looked at him and he gasped at the love in her blue orbs.  "You are Mamoru."_

_            He rolled the syllables around in his mouth.  "Mamoru..."  It fit better than any of the other names he had gone by but it was still not quite right.  There was still something missing with it and it had to do with his lover.  _

_            "It means protector in the high language," she told him._

_            "And you would call me that?" he asked._

_            "No," she answered, "It is not quite right on my tongue."_

_            He grinned and leaned down to press their mouths together.  Their lips parted and the tongue in question delicately touched his.  When they separated again he whispered, "You know my name, and you know me but who are you?"_

_            "Can't you see?" she responded with sad eyes and started to pull away._

_            "Wait!" he protested and tried to prevent her from slipping out of his arms.  "You keep changing how can I see you?"_

_            Wings lifted her into the air, she looked at him and he flinched at the loneliness and despair they now showed.  "We are all called many things but have only one name.  To know my name you must know me."  _

_            Her sapphire eyes remained constant in her shifting features and she floated further away from him.  She was leaving him with nothing of herself, not even a name, to treasure and he reached out helplessly.  She had so many faces which was the true one?  He searched desperately but light began to leak from her and she was obscured by a bright ball of white light.  Then the ball faded into nothingness and, too late he realised what he had seen.  She was warrior and healer, princess and servant, serenity and turmoil.  She was the light of hope, she was-_

***

            "USAGI!"

            It was midnight in Tokyo and a bereft young man cried into his pillow for the first time in years.  He had realised what it was he had lost but too late to prevent it.  His one solace was that he had not been left with nothing.  He had a name and he had his memories.  It was small consolation yet without it his spirit would have shrivelled for his was a soul that had brushed too close to a future star.


End file.
